The Philippines is looking at Europe’s Generalized System of Preferences (EU-GSP) as a fallback position in case the Philippine proposed bill in the US Congress seeking zero preferential duty on the country’s garment exports will not get passed.

“We are also exploring the EU market because our garments exports have been delisted from the EU-GSP,” said Lucita P. Reyes, supervising executive director of the Board of Investments (BOI) for the Garments and Textile Industry Development Office (GTIDO).

The EU-GSP is being reviewed every three years. The current one is good until 2011.

“We are exploring Europe because our competitor countries have their products still listed in the EU-GSP,” Reyes said.

In addition, Reyes said the country should not be dependent on the U.S market alone but has to explore other markets in Asia and Japan by making use of the free trade agreements with other countries to gain market access in other countries.

“We have to check out our FTAs with Australia-New Zealand. India, China and Japan,” she said.

At present, Philippine officials have urged the various Filipino-American communities in the US to write their senators and representatives to support the Save Our Industries bill.

“Chances of getting it passed is greater with many sponsors,” Reyes said.

Passage of the bill, which was filed in both houses of the US Congress middle of last year, looks uncertain as the US Congress gets busy with the upcoming elections. If the bill will not get passed by end this year, it would have to be refiled.

“But it is still within the timeline,” she added.

Reyes cited the exports potential of the country’s garment exports saying there have been several small subcontractors that are getting their accreditation with the Board of Investments.

In accrediting the garment subcontrators, the BoI is checking on the capacity of each manufacturer that uses common bonded warehouses to ensure that what they import, tax and duty-free, are also reexported after being processed here.

“We need to monitor and track their movement of imported goods,” she said.

But there has been no clear data of the industry since the abolition of the Garment & Textile Exports Board.