Donald Trump, the president of the United States, claimed he and the Philippines have reached a trade agreement, which will set US exports at a 19% tariff rate, while US products will not be subject to tariffs.
Shortly after meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House, the president made the announcement of the new agreement on Tuesday on his social media platform Truth Social.
After welcoming Marcos to the White House, Trump stated on his Truth Social platform, “We concluded our Trade Agreement, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States.”
Trump earlier this month threatened to threaten a 20 percent tariff rate, but it was significantly higher than the 17 percent rate set by the president’s announcement to “receive tariff rates for dozens of countries” in April. It matches Indonesia’s 19% rate, outperforming Vietnam’s slightly higher 20 percent rate, which was announced.
Last year, the US and the Philippines traded almost $5 billion worth of bilateral goods.
At the start of the meeting, Marcos, the first Southeast Asian leader to agree with Trump in his second term, stated to reporters that the US was his nation’s “strongest, closest, most reliable ally.”
Trump did not provide specifics, but he said the two Pacific allies would also cooperate militarily.
Raquel Solano, the assistant foreign secretary for the Philippines, reported last week that trade officials have been collaborating with US counterparts to reach a “mutually beneficial and mutually acceptable” agreement.
As Marcos arrived, protesters gathered nearby to demand that the Philippine leader respond to Filipino Americans’ and immigrant workers’ repeated requests for support in response to US immigration raids.
Trump emphasized the significance of the US-Philippine military relationship, saying, “They’re a very important country militarily, and we’ve had some great drills lately.
Marcos met with Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth, the secretary of state, on Monday in Washington. He will also meet with Philippine business leaders who are investing in the Philippines during his trip. According to Philippine officials, Marcos intended to make it clear that Manila must strengthen its economy if it wants to be a truly strong US ally in the Asia-Pacific region.
China is experiencing mounting pressure.
Trump stated at the Oval Office that he might make a historic trip to China “in the not-too-distant future” and that the Philippines had distanced itself from Beijing following his victory in November.
Trump claimed that while the nation was tying itself toward China, “we un-tilted it very, very quickly.”
After allowing a tit-for-tat tariff war that has impacted global trade and supply chains, the US president has attempted to ease tensions with Beijing in recent weeks. Next week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with Chinese officials in Sweden.
Source: Aljazeera
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