Philippine exports to America will be slapped with a 17 percent tariff, unless negotiated otherwise.
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government is in constant communication with the United States after the latter had asked various countries to list their best proposal on trade negotiations, according to Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro.
In a Palace briefing on Thursday, Castro was asked if the Philippines had already received a letter from the US.
The US has set a June 4 deadline for its trading partners to provide their best proposals in areas such as tariff and quota offers for the purchase of US industrial and agricultural products, as well as plans to remedy any non-tariff barriers.
“According to the Department of Trade and Industry and Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, they are in constant communication with the U.S. Trade Representative,” Castro revealed.
READ: Negotiate not retaliate: Philippines open to cut tariffs on US imports
Mum on details
“But they cannot divulge or give any details about this because we are covered by the confidentiality agreement. So hanggang doon lang po ang ating masasabi (That’s all we can say),” she added.
But is the Philippines satisfied with the ongoing talks with the US? Castro said, “Yes.”
Based on a Reuters report, the draft letter of the US to its negotiating partners also contains commitments on digital trade and economic security, among others.
It was unclear, however, which countries received the letter, according to the same report.
In April, a trade mission from the Philippines went to Washington for an initial round of tariff talks.
READ: Philippine Trade Secretary, economic czar off to Washington for tariff talks
Philippine-US trade
Based on data from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the US incurred a merchandise trade deficit with the Philippines amounting to $4.9 billion in 2024, up by 21.8 percent from the previous year.
Bilateral trade between the two countries totaled $23.5 billion in 2024. US goods exported to the Philippines amounted to $9.3 billion, up 0.4 percent. On the other hand, US imports from Philippines totaled $14.2 billion in 2024, up 6.9 percent.
The White House earlier estimated that the Philippines levies an average 34 percent on goods coming from America. This was when President Trump announced a reciprocal tariff of 17 percent on Philippine goods.
According to the USTR, which cited the latest available data as of 2022, the Philippines’ average Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) applied tariff rate was 6.1 percent.
The Philippines’ average MFN applied tariff rate was 9.8 percent for agricultural products and 5.5 percent for non-agricultural products in 2022.