Trump announced the deal on social media Tuesday after meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The minor reduction underscored the difficulty foreign leaders are facing as they attempt to convince the US president to grant relief from his country-based tariffs.
“The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19% Tariff. In addition, we will work together Militarily,” Trump wrote on social media Tuesday.
The president did not provide additional details about the trade understanding. But Marcos later told reporters that zero tariffs on US goods will only be imposed on certain products such as automobiles, Philippine media ABS-CBN News reported.
Marcos called the latest tariff deal a “significant achievement” for Manila and also said the Philippines will increase imports of soy and wheat products as well as medicines from the US, according to the report.
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Trump hit dozens of trading partners with higher tariffs in April, only to quickly put them on hold for 90 days amid market backlash in order to work out agreements. But that stretch saw the US finalise only a handful of deals and Trump instead moved to unilaterally impose rates on countries and blocs ahead of his new Aug 1 deadline.
While the US president and his advisers initially suggested they planned to hold concurrent talks with trading partners, Trump has shown little patience for back-and-forth negotiations, instead saying his preference was to just set rates for other economies.
In recent weeks, he has sent a slew of letters setting tariff levels and is also moving ahead on industry-specific levies that will target sectors such as copper, semiconductors and pharmaceutical drugs. While talks continue with major economies including the European Union and India, Trump said some 150 smaller countries will be hit with a blanket rate of between 10 and 15%.
See also: Trump's 50% tariffs on India take effect, among the highest in the world
Marcos was the latest foreign leader to visit Trump in a bid to secure lower duties and had sought to underscore his country’s longstanding alliance with the US to argue for better trade terms from the Philippines’ top export market.
But the inability to secure a larger cut highlights how Trump’s tariff agenda has left America’s allies exposed to the US president’s bid to reshape global trade flows — even as he seeks a broader trade truce with the nation’s chief adversary, China.
Prior to the Trump-Marcos meeting, Philippine trade officials had flown to Washington for talks with their counterparts on an agreement.
The US held a trade deficit with the Philippines of US$4.9 billion ($6.27 billion) last year with total trade at US$23.5 billion, according to US government data. The Philippines has previously said it could not offer the US a zero tariff — as Trump said Vietnam and Indonesia have done — because it would hurt domestic businesses, but was planning to increase imports of US farm goods including soybeans and frozen meat, and boost exports of semiconductors, coconut and mango products to the US.
