Businessmen believe the government should continue nudging the U.S. to grant the Philippines tariff concessions, particularly garments and agriculture, while the Trump administration’s tariff policy remains evolving and uncertain.
George T. Barcelon, a member of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Philippines led by Chair by Jose Ma. Concepcion and Michael Tan, said the government should now work on getting a slot for a meaningful bilateral meeting between President Marcos Jr. and American President Donald Trump during the ASEAN and Partners Summit in Manila next year. The Philippines holds the ASEAN chairship next year.
“We’re ASEAN chairman for next year and we should look forward to the visit of President Trump and hopefully we will be extended some special treatment in this whole scheme of tariff to support our economy as we give support to their (U.S.) geopolitical narrative in southeast Asia,” said Barcelon.
Barcelon, who is also chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed hope that Trump would be open to tweaking the 19 percent reciprocal tariff for some of Philippine export items or sectoral exports to the U.S.
Exporters have been batting for zero tariff on the country’s garments and some agriculture items because these items could give more economic benefits to the Philippines.
“If the U.S. really wanted to help, our garment and wearables, and fruits exports, should be zero tariff,” he said. Granting zero tariff to agriculture products and garments would ensure wider economic impact on the Philippine economy, particularly in boosting the competitiveness of these sectors and jobs creation.
Barcelon earlier lamented that the Philippines seemed to be “left out in the cold” during the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in Kuala Lumpur where only Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia had an audience with Trump and was able to gain favorable reciprocal tariff treatment compared to what was previously announced by the U.S. government.
The U.S. even relented to its tariff policy on China, he said. “Since the U.S. is still in that kind of state of mind, we should push for our follow through on our appeals. We are its closest ally, they should have given us some consideration,” he said.
“If others can haggle for more beneficial treatment, we deserve more, being a big supporter of U.S. geopolitics in our region.”
