PH official to meet with US trade representative on Trump tariffs

MANILA, April 17 ------ A Philippine trade official is set to fly to the United States soon to meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to negotiate the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration on Philippine goods. 

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go made the announcement Thursday during a briefing in Malacañang. He said the Philippine government has reached out to Greer's office to set a meeting and that the USTR "positively responded."  

“This is a negotiation and of course, in my opinion the best possible outcome is a free trade agreement," Go said, referring to trade with zero tariffs on either side. "But again it’s open communication, dialogue, cooperation and let’s see what we can negotiate," he added.  

According to Department of Trade and Industry data, the US is the Philippines' top export market after China, with $12.12 billion in exports there in 2024. The Philippines imported $8.165 billion in goods from the US, it's fifth largest import supplier, last year. Go’s announcement come as ASEAN trade ministers meet in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to discuss the regional bloc’s response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, with Southeast Asian countries agreeing that negotiating with the United States as the best way to move forward. “There are probably two key takeaways here — one, is that every country will continue with their bilateral negotiations with the US and concurrently, conduct a regional discussion with the US. And the keywords are cooperation not retaliation,” Go said. 

Trade officials of ASEAN will also discuss how to boost trade and investment within the region, he said. The Philippine government sees Trump’s imposition of 17 percent tariffs to affect only 0.1 percent of the country’s GDP in the next few years. “We are aware that any tariff, any additional tariffs still affects certain industries in the Philippines which is why we think that may konting effect po ‘to (this will have some effect),” Go said. 

Malacañang meanwhile has yet to react on Trump’s decision to pause the imposition of "reciprocal" tariffs on the Philippines and almost all other countries except China. 

Source: news.abs-cbn.com