No bacon from US

On the same day that President Marcos managed to cut the planned 20 percent US tariff on Philippine exports to 19 percent, Indonesia sealed a deal that brought down the planned tariff on its products to 19 percent as well – from 32 percent.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who met with US President Donald Trump in Washington on the same day as BBM, brought down the planned tariff on Japanese exports – including one of the biggest, automobiles – from 25 to 15 percent.

Earlier this month, Vietnam’s leader To Lam pulled down the planned US tariff on Vietnamese exports from 46 percent to 20 percent – and he did this only through a phone call with Trump.

We’re familiar with the admonition to underpromise and overdeliver.

This could have been useful in that sudden trip (the announcement was sudden) of President Marcos to Washington for his first-ever official meeting with Trump.

The visit was touted as a win for BBM, being the first Southeast Asian head of state to be invited to the White House under the second Trump presidency.

This was as it should be, considering that the Philippines is the only US treaty ally in Southeast Asia.

But BBM’s team should have been mindful of how mercurial Trump can be, toward allies and foes alike. And how Trump had bragged last April, after upending international trade rules through tariffs that he seemed to have plucked out of thin air, that “these countries are calling us up, kissing my ass. They are. They are dying to make a deal.”

Trump said this at a Republican fundraising dinner in Washington during which he also parodied world leaders telling him: “Please, please, sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, sir!”

Anyone kissing Trump’s butt had better be sure that it’s worth it.

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BBM’s pilgrimage to Washington was done in the shadow of the increased tariff set by Trump on Philippine exports to the US – 20 percent from the originally planned 17 percent, which in turn was a jump from the pre-Trump tariffs ranging from 5.5 to 9.8 percent, or an average of 6.1 percent under the Most Favored Nation status enjoyed by the Philippines.

The Pinoy expectation was that a triumphant BBM would be bringing home the bacon from his working visit to Washington. It could’ve been a highlight of his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) this Monday.

Now, does a one-percentage-point cut from 20 percent constitute a bacon?

Even for the math-challenged – and there are many among us – cutting 20 percent down to 19 looks like meat scrap rather than bacon. Especially compared to what Indonesia and Vietnam managed to negotiate – without their leaders kissing anyone’s behind – and what the Japanese got.

Worse for certain local producers, BBM also agreed to bring down to zero the tariffs on US exports to the Philippines.

In a press briefing, BBM mentioned only US automobile exports. We have yet to get a full list of the US products covered by what Trump happily described as part of his “open market” deal with BBM. The Philippines has committed to buy more soy and wheat products as well as pharmaceuticals from the US. BBM’s officials clarified yesterday that US rice, corn, pork and chicken are not covered by the zero tariff.

You could tell it was a win for the US side because Trump heaped flattery on the “very good, and tough negotiator” BBM. The description may apply to Japan’s PM. But to the Philippine President?

Even that P3-billion aid, announced by the US State Department, drew unfavorable comments. The Philippines became the first country to receive US foreign assistance since the Trump administration suspended and ordered a review of all US foreign aid last January, Washington announced.

I don’t know why we take pride in needing foreign aid, but I guess the restoration of the US assistance program under an inward-looking Trump administration is seen as a nod to “strong” Pinoy negotiators.

Of the P3 billion, P825 million (about $15 million) is meant for private sector development in the so-called Luzon Economic Corridor, which promotes investments in transport, logistics, energy and semiconductors.

Marcos critics were quick to point out that the $15 million – which incidentally still needs US Congress approval – is smaller than the base purse of about $12 million plus a share of up to $6 million from pay-per-view brought home by Manny Pacquiao from his match with Mario Barrios, who kept the world welterweight title.

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As for the defense alliance and hopes for clarity from Trump on his policy on China, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a China hawk, reiterated previous statements on Washington’s “ironclad” support for the Philippines amid increasingly aggressive actions of Beijing in the South China Sea.

In a joint press conference with BBM, however, the US president, who is the architect of American foreign policy, said he wouldn’t mind if Manila gets along with Beijing because “we’re getting along with China very well,” and that in fact he was going to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

As BBM returned to Manila yesterday without the bacon, his officials stressed that trade negotiations were continuing, and that the country stood to get additional though unspecified forms of support from the defense alliance with Uncle Sam.

It’s doubtful though that the 19 percent can be pulled down to at least 17 percent anytime soon, much less to pre-Trump tariff levels.

The visit also opened opportunities for BBM’s foes to pounce on his wife Liza, who begged off from the trip and instead took off for Riyadh.

Marcos 2.0 officials raised public expectations about the meeting with the notoriously volatile Trump. The officials overpromised and then underdelivered.

Instead of a win from the US visit, the administration is busy this pre-SONA weekend with damage control.