American, Japanese, Korean and Australia-New Zealand business groups in the country have joined the call of European companies to make the government’s planned temporary zero duty privilege on the importation of electric vehicles be more inclusive by opening it to all countries and for all types of EVs.
Aside from pushing for five-year zero tariff on all types of EVs to include trikes and jeepneys, among others, Hinchliffe said the zero-duty importation privilege should also be granted to “all countries” and not just to the Philippines’ special trading partner countries. Likewise, Um Hyunchong, president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, cited the need to include all types of EVs to facilitate the development of EV infrastructure, particularly the EV charging stations in the country. He said that the combination of pure EVs and hybrids will be a good way to start the change from the internal combustion engine cars.
Bradley Norman, vice-president of the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, said that the planned zero tariff on EVs will be positive for the Philippine economy.