Marcos: 1% reduction in US tariff still a ‘significant achievement’
MANILA, Philippines — After a historic visit to the White House yielded just a 1% reduction in US tariffs on Philippine goods, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. still called it a win.
The tariff rate, previously at 17%, was raised by US President Donald Trump to 20% before Marcos’ visit.
Marcos met with Trump and other US officials to discuss defense and trade matters, with the Philippine side hoping to secure lower tariff rates.
“I can already tell everyone, as it’s come out already, that we managed to bring down the 20% tariff rate for the Philippines to 19. Now, 1% might seem like a very small concession. However, when you put it into – in real terms, it is a significant achievement,” Marcos said in a media interview released on Wednesday, July 23.
Marcos attributed the “special relationship” between the US and the Philippines.
In a social media post, Trump said the Philippines was going to have an “open market” with the US with no tariffs.
“The major areas that he said were automobiles. Because we have a tariff on American automobiles, we will open that market and no longer charge tariffs on that,” Marcos said.
Other markets the Philippines would open up to the US include soy products, wheat products, pharmaceuticals and more.
Marcos said that this was a positive development, as this would become cheaper in the Philippines.
“There's still a lot of detail that needs to be worked out on the different products and the different exports and imports. But basically, that's now our template. That's what we are following, is at 19% tariff rate on Philippine goods that are imported into the United States,” Marcos said.
Asked if the Philippines was getting the shorter end of the stick with the 19% tariff, Marcos shrugged it off.
“That's how negotiations go,” Marcos said.
The president reasoned that it was up to the US to decide what number they would impose on the Philippines.
Trade negotiations have been ongoing with the US since the tariffs were announced, with Marcos’ top economic officials eyeing a free trade agreement with the US.
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