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Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Roque is set to fly to the United States (US) next week, as Philippine trade and economic officials would meet with the Trump administration to address the imposition of the currently paused tariffs.
Roque told reporters on Friday, April 25, that she will depart Manila for Washington, D.C., on April 29, alongside Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (SAPIEA) Secretary Frederick Go.
While she cannot confirm the exact date of the meeting, Roque said it will take place before their return to Manila on May 2.
The Philippine delegation will meet with the trade gurus of the Trump administration, namely US Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The DTI chief said the primary goal of this meeting is to “get what’s best for our country.”
“Of course, to bring down the tariffs…and to really just reiterate that we will continue a strong relationship between the US and the Philippines,” she said.
Roque said the Marcos administration’s economic team is set to meet this week to iron out its strategy for the upcoming meeting with US officials.
She added that their course of action will primarily be rooted in the inputs of local importers, exporters, and manufacturers, whom the government consulted early this week.
“We want that whatever we negotiate there will be for the best of the industries of the Philippines,” she said.
The local trade industry, she said, has been heavily clamoring for tariffs that are lower than neighboring Southeast Asian countries.
During his so-called “Liberation Day” on April 2, US President Donald Trump imposed a baseline 10-percent tariff on all foreign-based goods, with additional reciprocal tariffs on countries that have a trade deficit with America.
The Philippines was then slapped with a 17-percent tariff, significantly lower than its close competitors in the region such as Vietnam (46 percent), Thailand (36 percent), Indonesia (32 percent), and Malaysia (24 percent).
Trump has since paused these reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, which will be lifted in July.
Referring to the recent consultation with key stakeholders, Roque said: “They want lower tariffs than our neighboring countries, let’s put it this way.”
“Once our tariff is lower than our neighboring countries, then that gives us an edge in terms of business to the US,“ she explained.
With these ambitions in mind, the government is prepared to ramp up its importation of agricultural products from the US.
The Trade Secretary said the country is prepared to import a higher volume of commodities such as soybeans and frozen meat, depending on the balance of demand and supply in the local agriculture sector.
Based on USTR data, American goods to the Philippines stood at $9.3 billion last year, while imports from the Philippines totaled $14.2 billion.
Overall, trade of US goods with the Philippines reached an estimated $23.5 billion in 2024.
The DTI chief previously said that the government is also considering the reduction of tariffs on US products.
