DTI: Philippines to follow up tariff talks with US

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is set to hold follow-up meetings with the United States to lower the reciprocal tariffs on the country’s exports, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

“The negotiation is a process. Not a one-time meeting,” Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said in a statement yesterday.

Details on the schedule of the next meeting were not available as of yesterday.

Roque was with Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go in Washington last week to ask the US government to lower the reciprocal tariff imposed on Philippine exports.

Before flying to the US, Roque said the Philippine government would be asking the US to bring down the 17-percent reciprocal tariff on Philippine exports to zero.

During the meeting, the Philippines presented both the opportunities and challenges that the US reciprocal tariffs pose for Philippine exports.

“We believe the meeting went very well and our points were well received,” Roque said.

Earlier, Go also expressed hope that last week’s discussions would lead to arrangements that would not only strengthen bilateral trade ties, but also help diversify the Philippines’ export markets.

While the US economy contracted by 0.3 percent in the first quarter due to a surge in imports in anticipation of the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on trade partners, Department of Economy, Planning and Development Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon told reporters that the government is still on a “wait-and-see” on how this may impact the Philippine economy.

“We don’t know if it’s a one-off thing and how long this will last,” she said.

She said what is clear is the Philippines’ intention to strengthen trade relations with the US, as demonstrated in the meeting between the Philippines and the US last week.

“We’re very interested especially in our trade relations and to inform them of our initiatives to reduce, if not totally eliminate what they call as non-tariff barriers,” she said.

The US announced the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on April 2, to address supposed trade imbalances.

On April 9, the US announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs and brought down the levy to 10 percent for most countries including the Philippines to give time for negotiations with trade partners.