Trump Announces US-Philippines Trade Deal ‘Concluded’ With 19% Tariff, Hosts Prez Marcos At White House

<p>US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he has “concluded” a trade deal with Philippines, which will now pay 19 percent tariff. This comes after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited the White House to discuss and finalise a trade agreement with the US.</p>
<p>”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 said after Marcos’ White House visit, as reported by news agency Reuters.</p>
<p>Trump said the two Pacific allies would also work together militarily, calling Marcos a “very good and tough negotiator.”</p>
<p>Marcos, who also met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on July 21, is the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Donald Trump in his second term.</p>
<p>At the start of his meeting with the Philippine leader at the Oval Office, Trump said, “We’re going to talk about trade today and we are very close to finishing a trade deal, a big trade deal actually.”</p>
<p>Speaking of the relationship between the two nations, Marco said, &ldquo;This has evolved into as important a relationship as is possible to have.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The US had a deficit of nearly $5 billion with the Philippines in 2024 on bilateral goods trade of $23.5 billion. In July, Trump raised the threatened “reciprocal” tariffs on Philippine imports to 20 percent from 17 percent, which he had threatened to impose in April, Reuters reported.</p>
<p>According to the Philippines President office, Marcos, before heading to the US on Sunday, said that he wanted to tell Trump and his administration that “Philippines is ready to negotiate a bilateral trade deal that will ensure strong, mutually beneficial and future-oriented collaborations that only the United States and the Philippines will be able to take advantage of.”</p>
<p>Ahead of the meeting, the White House said that Trump would discuss with Marcos the shared commitment to achieve an open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific.</p>
<p>US has already reached trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia.&nbsp;</p>
<p>During the Oval Office event, Trump also hinted that he may visit China “in the not-too-distant future,” noting Philippines had distanced itself from Beijing after his election last November. “The country was maybe tilting toward China, but we un-tilted it very, very quickly,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying.<br /><br /></p>