PH airs business concerns to US in tariff talks

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine economic officials expressed optimism over stronger bilateral trade with the United States after their recent meeting with US Trade Rep. (USTR) Jamieson Greer, which they said concluded on a constructive, positive note.

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, who led the Philippine delegation, said the talks “went very well,” emphasizing that the interests of local industries remained central to the discussions.

“We made sure to put the welfare of Philippine local industries at the center of our negotiations. We are hopeful that these discussions mark the beginning of a process toward arrangements from both sides that will not only strengthen US-Philippines trade ties but also help diversify our country’s export markets,” Go said following the talks.

The comprehensive dialogue took place in the wake of the US government’s imposition of a 17-percent reciprocal tariff on Philippine exports, currently the second lowest in Southeast Asia after Singapore’s 10 percent.

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“Our goal for this meeting is a partnership that benefits both sides and supports the growth of our industries at home,” Go added.

Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said: “We were able to clearly convey to the USTR our local industries’ [questions] and concerns and we are hopeful this will yield our desired results.”

The Philippine delegation was composed of Go, Roque and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, who presented the opportunities and challenges that the reciprocal tariffs pose for various Philippine export products.

Based on data from the USTR, the United States incurred a merchandise trade deficit with the Philippines amounting to $4.9 billion in 2024, up by 21.8 percent from the previous year.

Counterproposal

Bilateral trade between the two countries totaled $23.5 billion in 2024. US goods exported to the Philippines amounted to $9.3 billion, up 0.4 percent. On the other hand, US imports from the Philippines totaled $14.2 billion in 2024, up 6.9 percent.

After the announcement of the US reciprocal tariffs in early April, Roque said the government was open to lowering tariffs on American goods in response to the imposition of the 17-percent levy on Philippine goods.

“We are really going to do that. Actually, we, the economic team, are going to meet soon,” Roque said.

She said the Philippines was “definitely” looking at lowering the tariffs on US products but that the economic team needed to discuss the extent of what the country could offer.

The Philippine government was also looking earlier at a collective response with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-countries to address the higher US tariffs.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had called for a united Asean response, saying Malaysia, as Asean chair, was ready to lead efforts to “ensure Asean’s collective voice is heard clearly and firmly on the international stage.”

Asean countries were slapped with some of the highest tariffs: Cambodia, 49 percent; Laos, 48 percent; Vietnam, 46 percent; Myanmar, 44 percent; Thailand, 36 percent; Indonesia, 32 percent; Malaysia, 24 percent, and Brunei, 24 percent.

However, the United States and Vietnam have reportedly agreed to discuss a “deal to remove tariffs” after a “very productive phone call” on April 4 between their leaders, according to an earlier Reuters report.

(2025/05/05-05:50)