LUGGAGE maker PLG Prime Global Co., a US-Taiwan company, is considering setting up a manufacturing facility in the Philippines, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said.
In a statement on Tuesday, PEZA said it met with representatives of PLG Prime to discuss opportunities presented by the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) regime.
“PLG Prime was accompanied by Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) board member Wilson Tecson and PEZA investment promotion partner Jayson Sze during the meeting in which it presented plans to build a plant in Hermosa, Bataan,” PEZA said.
MECO is the de facto Philippine diplomatic post in Taiwan.
PLG Prime currently has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, China, and the US.
“They operated in the Philippines from 2018 to 2022 and then transferred their luggage manufacturing to China. But because of the reciprocal tariff, they want to revive their operations to be able to export to the US,” PEZA said.
“They have reserved a lot at the Hermosa Industrial Park, and they will put in bigger investments this time. The company will file their application within 15 days,” it added.
According to PEZA, apparel, footwear, and luggage manufacturing are among the industries the Philippines lost to China, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
“With the reciprocal tariffs, we hope to revive these industries in the Philippines. Currently, we have received serious inquiries from several investors with manufacturing facilities in the US, China, Taiwan, and even Vietnam,” PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said.
“When you’ve got American, Chinese, Taiwanese, and even Vietnamese manufacturers knocking on your door, you know something’s shifting, and it’s shifting towards our direction. The Philippines is back in the conversation,” he added.
The US imposed some of its highest tariffs on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Cambodia is facing a 49% tariff, followed by Laos (48%), Vietnam (46%), Myanmar (44%), Thailand (36%), Indonesia (32%), Malaysia (24%), and Brunei (24%).
The Philippines was assigned a 17% tariff, second only to Singapore’s baseline rate of 10%.
US President Donald J. Trump announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariff scheme, allowing most trading partners to be charged a blanket 10% duty until July. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
