WASHINGTON. U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new 19% tariff rate on goods from the Philippines following a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House, where they discussed trade and security cooperation.
The announcement comes after what Trump described as a “beautiful visit” by Marcos, during which the two leaders concluded a trade agreement. Under the new deal, U.S. goods exported to the Philippines will face zero tariffs, while Philippine exports to the U.S. will be subject to a 19% tariff. This figure is slightly lower than the 20% Trump had previously threatened, but higher than the 17% rate announced in April when reciprocal tariffs were first introduced.
The 19% rate aligns with that of Indonesia and is slightly more favorable than Vietnam’s 20%. Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform shortly after the Oval Office meeting, calling Marcos a “very good and tough negotiator.”
“It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19% Tariff,” Trump posted.
President Marcos, the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term, did not issue a statement after the tariff announcement but had earlier referred to the United States as the Philippines’ “strongest, closest, most reliable ally.”
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez described the outcome as “an evolving good deal for both countries that could be further improved over time.”
The trade deal is expected to impact a bilateral goods trade relationship that reached $23.5 billion last year, with the U.S. posting a nearly $5 billion trade deficit. Trump claimed the “very big numbers” in the new agreement would continue to grow.
Despite the announcement, experts remain cautious. Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that the lack of specific details makes it difficult to assess the full implications. “At the end of the day, I don’t think the Philippine government is sweating the final number so long as it keeps Philippine-made goods competitive with those of its neighbors, which this does,” he said.
The White House also released an update on a separate U.S.-Indonesia trade framework, stating that negotiations are ongoing and expected to conclude in the coming weeks.
During the meeting, Trump said he might visit China in the near future and remarked that the Philippines had shifted away from Beijing since his return to office. “The country was maybe tilting toward China, but we un-tilted it very, very quickly,” he said.
Philippine officials have said that Marcos emphasized the need for economic strength as a foundation for deeper U.S.-Philippines cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Meanwhile, protesters gathered outside the White House during Marcos’ visit, urging the Philippine leader to respond to concerns raised by Filipino Americans and migrant workers affected by recent U.S. immigration enforcement actions.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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