ASEANEWS HEADLINE-US PHIL TRADE | MANILA: Tariff talks with US not yet finished – officials
‘Not so good deal’: Expert on Marcos-Trump tariff agreement | ANC
“The negotiations are not yet finished. Our technical working groups will continue to work with their counterparts from America to finalize the details of this arrangement. A lot of things have to be discussed so we are not yet done with this,” Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go said at a Palace press briefing.
“All the fine print (has to be discussed). It’s like a contract with a lot of details that have to be threshed out. Of course, we will fight for our other sectors here in the Philippines that are exporting to America. Of course, we will ask for favors for our export industries,” Go said.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez echoed this, saying the lowering of the planned tariff from 20 to 19 percent is “a good deal for the moment, but there is still more that we can do and there will still be more discussions ahead.”
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“It is not yet final. We have until Aug. 1 to finalize everything,” Romualdez was quoted by a Palace press release as saying.
After his meeting with President Marcos in Washington last Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that Philippine exports to the US would be levied with a 19 percent tariff, lower than the 20 percent he relayed to the Philippine government this month, but higher than the original 17 percent he unveiled in April.
The deal will also scrap the tariffs on American automobile imports and increase the Philippines’ imports from the US for soy products, wheat and pharmaceuticals.
While Marcos called the revised tariff a “significant achievement,” other sectors are concerned that the opening of the Philippine market to goods imported from the US would hurt Philippine industries.
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Go said the industries where the Philippines is a significant market producer, are not covered by the deal with the US. He added that the Philippines and the US have yet to finalize the agreement.
The tariff rate to be imposed on Philippine exports is the second-lowest in Southeast Asia, higher only than Singapore’s 10 percent.
According to Go, Vietnam offered full market access to the US, which will impose a 20 percent tariff on Vietnamese goods and 40 percent on goods transshipped through the Southeast Asian country. He added that Indonesia, whose exports to the US will be levied a 19 percent tariff, also provided full market access.
“Indonesia also promised several things to America… For example, Indonesia promised to buy 50 Boeing planes from America – it’s something big. We do not have such a promise,” Go said.
Protected sectors
Go clarified that the agriculture sector remains protected as sugar, corn, rice, chicken, pork and seafood are not included in the concessions granted to the US. He added that the opening of the Philippine market to pharmaceutical products would lead to cheaper medicine prices.
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As for the zero tariff on American automobiles, wheat and soy, Go pointed out that the Philippines does not produce them so no sector would be harmed by the deal.
“No industries will be hurt in the sectors we opened (to the US),” he said,
Go said the entry of tariff-free wheat could lower the prices of pandesal while the removal of the duties on soya, a material used to produce animal feeds, could reduce the prices of pork, chicken and fish.
He also explained that the tariff would not be shouldered by Filipinos but by American importers or buyers of products from other countries.
$21 billion investment Pledges
President Marcos managed to secure more than $21 billion in investment pledges during his three-day official visit to the US.
Marcos and his delegation arrived in the Philippines minutes past 10 p.m. last Wednesday from the brief visit, his fifth in the US and his 35th foreign trip since assuming the presidency three years ago.
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“We return to the Philippines with over $21 billion in investment pledges that have the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for Filipinos within our country,” the Chief Executive said in a recorded arrival message.
Go revealed at a Palace press briefing yesterday that a hospital group has committed to invest $500 million to build a world-class medical facility in the Philippines.
Go said Philippine officials also met with representatives of investment firm Cerberus, which acquired the Agila Subic Shipyard in 2022. The company is exploring other businesses like energy and logistics and is considering investing P10 billion to P15 billion in the Philippines, he added.
Marcos also met with investment company I Squared, which, according to Go, is planning to expand its liquefied natural gas and cold storage facilities in the Philippines.
“The President also met with GIP (Global Infrastructure Partners), which is considering investing a huge amount on infrastructure here in the Philippines,” Go added.
“We’ve reaffirmed our mutual commitment to further strengthening our long-standing alliance and growing our economies for the benefit of the people and in pursuit of our national interests,” Marcos said of his meeting with US defense chief and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“We exchange views on key regional and international security issues, focusing on how the two countries could cooperate and contribute towards addressing common challenges and priorities,” he added.
The “ironclad” US commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty was also reiterated during Marcos’ bilateral meeting with Trump.
Private sector development aid
Marcos also welcomed the US government’s pledge of an additional $15 million for private sector development under the Luzon Economic Corridor initiative and an additional $48 million in foreign assisted projects. The economic corridor, which was launched during the trilateral summit of the Philippines, US and Japan last year, will support connectivity among Subic Bay, Clark, Manila and Batangas.
“We will continue to work with the State Department as well with the US Congress for the implementation of these programs,” Marcos said.
Marcos said he is looking forward to hosting Trump next year for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation meetings, which will coincide with the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the Philippines and the US and 75 years of their MDT.
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