PH studying hike on import tariff

The government is studying whether there is a need to impose a 5-percent across-the-board tariff hike on all imported products to raise more resources for its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) response, a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said.

DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said that while the idea “has been abandoned so far,” if imposed, the 5-percent hike would translate to P245 billion additional revenues “based on the Philippine’s 2016 to 2018 average imports.”