Philippine officials recently held high-level trade discussions with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington, D.C., where both sides described the talks as “very productive” and constructive.
In a press briefing at Malacañan Palace, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, Secretary Frederick Go, highlighted the positive outcomes of the May 2 dialogue.
“During the meeting, we raised all the concerns brought to us by stakeholders, especially those in the Philippine export industries,” Go said. “The good news is that the discussions were very productive, and I believe the meeting went extremely well.”
Among the key topics was the semiconductor and electronics industry, currently the Philippines’ top export to the United States. Other sectors discussed included coconut products, garments, furniture, food processing, and automotive parts.
Go added that technical working groups from the Department of Trade and Industry’s Foreign Trade Office would now continue detailed discussions with their counterparts at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.
The talks also took place in the broader context of evolving U.S. trade policy. On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump announced new “reciprocal” tariffs, imposing a baseline 10% tax on imports from all countries and higher duties for those with significant trade surpluses with the U.S.
Initially, this resulted in a 10% ad valorem tariff for Philippine exports, with an additional 17% country-specific duty. However, on April 9, President Trump announced a 90-day suspension of the new tariffs for most countries, including the Philippines—a development that has temporarily eased concerns for Philippine exporters.
