The Philippines loses between P106.44 billion ($2 billion) and P266 billion ($5 billion) annually from excessive shipping fees, data from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) showed.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said a study showed, some shipping lines have developed a scheme that makes freight cost less transparent to benefit the exporters overseas at the expense of local importers.
“We are requesting the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), through Chairman Arsenio Balisacan, to act on the concerns of the business sector regarding questionable destination and origin charges imposed on local importers/exporters. These excessive charges and fees are recurring issues that have brought significant negative impact on our local industries,” Lopez said.
He said his agency wanted the PCC to look into excessive and unreasonable charges imposed by foreign shipping lines to importers and exporters. The DTI aired the call amid the growing concerns of the business community about undue surcharges which continue to undermine the competitiveness of local industries.
A joint study conducted by DTI- Export Development Council and the National Competitiveness Council in 2017 detailed the pricing scheme of several international shipping lines and found out questionable destination and origin charges imposed on local importers and exporters.
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“Philippine exporters are hit hardest by these excessive fees, making our products more costly. Filipino consumers also bear the impact as the additional costs of imported goods are passed on to them,” Lopez added.
The issue of exorbitant fees by foreign carriers was again raised by logistics service providers during the Ease of Doing Business Summit. The panel on Trading Across Border recommended that the DTI refer the issue to the PCC since agency appears to be the regulatory body that can best address this unfair practices by foreign shipping lines.
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