Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd and local economists see a positive impact of the new United States leadership to the Philippine economy.

In a message to reporters on Thursday, Dominguez provided a quote from US President Joe Biden that signals his presidency can be beneficial to both the United States and the Philippines:

“So here’s my message to those beyond our borders. America has been tested, and we’ve come out stronger for it. We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again. Not to meet yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. And we’ll lead, not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.”

Dominguez said, the passage “bodes well for a return openness to international trade and investment which will undoubtedly redound to our mutual benefit.”

For his part, ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said Biden’s intention to restore US alliances and its return to prominence on the world stage suggests that he “will be looking for increased cooperation with allies with the Philippines being one of her more long standing allies in the region.”

“We do also note that he may also favor returning to multilateral as opposed to bilateral agreements so it’ll be interesting if the Philippines will follow the lead with the US attempting to reassert its influence on the global stage,” he also pointed out.

Meanwhile, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort is seeing increased Philippine exports and imports as he believes that Biden presidency “would help support increased global trade, especially free trade agreement, at least less protectionist policies and possibly less US-China trade war/tension.”

He added a Biden presidency would also ease policy on immigration that would help many Filipinos in the US and help increase overseas Filipino remittances.

Less protectionist policies under Biden would also support further growth in the local BPO (business process outsourcing) industry, with less curbs on outsourcing of US jobs, Ricafort also stressed.

“Biden presidency would also push greater US stimulus and government spending that would lead to faster economic growth in the US, which is the world’s biggest economy,” he also underscored.

Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Thursday in Manila. CURRENTPH