President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is seeking a mutually beneficial tariff deal during his meeting with US President Donald Trump today (Tuesday, Manila time).
The two leaders are also expected to discuss the potential establishment of a US-backed ammunition production facility in the Philippines.
“We totally understand the dynamics of the [tariff] discussions… In our case, we also would like to see something that would be good for both our countries,” Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said.
“It has to be what’s right for both sides,” he added.
The Philippines was slapped with a 20 percent tariff that is set to take effect on August 1.
While three percentage points higher from the original 17 percent reciprocal tariff announced by Trump, it is the second lowest in ASEAN, next only to Singapore’s 10 percent.
Romualdez said while discussions on tariffs remain the immediate focus, the Philippine delegation is hopeful the talks could pave the way for renewed efforts on a bilateral free trade agreement, which had seen progress under Trump’s previous term.
“There were already conversations on the FTA during the first administration…That process stalled with the change in leadership, but we’re now bringing that back into play,” the Philippine ambassador said.
Romualdez said there will also be discussion on beefing up regional security, including efforts to strengthen collaboration with Washington and other like-minded partners in addressing growing tensions in the West Philippine Sea.
One emerging area of cooperation under discussion, Romualdez said, is the potential establishment of a US-backed ammunition production facility in the Philippines, following the approval of a related provision in the US Congress’ National Defense Authorization Act.
“Setting up a production facility in the Philippines would obviously be beneficial for us economically also because it will create jobs,” Romualdez said.
“It’s a good way of being able to have a combination of both defense and economic cooperation,” he added.
Ahead of Mr. Marcos’ visit, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington D.C. last week where they exchanged views regarding topics of mutual interest, including the West Philippine Sea.
“The two NSAs expressed optimism for all future joint activities related to defense, security, and industrial cooperation and Secretary Rubio assured Secretary Año of the US’ ironclad commitment to the Philippines under the Trump administration,” the NSC said.
But as to the issue of Trump’s hardline immigration policy, Romualdez admitted there is little room for negotiation, and that Manila’s priority is to ensure undocumented Filipinos facing deportation are returned home and not sent to third countries.
“I think at the end of the day, the laws of the United States must be respected, just like we expect citizens who come to the Philippines to also respect our laws,” he said.
“The bottom line is there is really not much room for discussion, but to simply work in such a way that all Filipinos that are up for deportation will be deported to the Philippines and not to a third country,” he added.
Romualdez said the Philippine Embassy in Washington has yet to receive updated figures from US authorities, but estimates that nearly 100,000 Filipinos, many of them in California, could be subject to removal proceedings.
“These are sensitive and confidential matters. The US Department of Homeland Security only informs us when coordination is necessary for the repatriation process,” he added.
