TRADE officials said Thursday, July 24, 2025, that negotiations on the specifics of the 19 percent tariff on Philippine exports, down from the 20 percent announced earlier, would continue.
“The details are not yet final. The Philippines and the United States will still have to negotiate the details of the agreement, including products that are covered by market access commitments on both sides,” Trade and Industry Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said in a joint statement with Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go.
“As we move forward, we will work closely with relevant stakeholders to finalize the remaining details of the agreement. We are mindful of the sensitivities of our domestic stakeholders and the same will be duly considered in the negotiations,” the statement read.
Go assured the public that “the concessions we will extend are strategic to the Philippines.”
“These are products that we do not locally produce and are critical inputs to reducing the cost of healthcare, for example,” he said.
“Our technical working groups will continue to work with their counterparts from America to finalize the details of this arrangement. Marami pang kailangan pag-usapan, so hindi pa po tayo tapos (There are still a lot to be discussed, so we are not yet done),” he said, in turn, during a press briefing in Malacañang Thursday.
Go pointed out that the 19 percent tariff imposed on Philippine exports to the US is a universal tariff.
He also noted that excluded from the concessions are sugar, corn, rice, chicken, fish and seafood, among others, to protect local farmers and fishers.
Go also cited that the tariff would be paid not by Filipinos but by US citizens who will import and buy products from the Philippines.
Another important thing about the tariff imposed on the Philippines is that it is the second lowest in Asia after Singapore’s 10 percent, he said.
“Importante ito dahil kapag mababa ang ating taripa, makaka-attract po tayo ng mga foreign direct investors in the Philippines para magtayo ng mga pabrika, magtayo ng mga negosyo sa Pilipinas para makapag-export ng kanilang mga produkto sa America (This is important because if our tariff is low, we could attract foreign direct investors to the Philippines to put up factories and businesses for the products that they will export to the US),” he added.
Limited impact on PH economy
Meanwhile, the 19 percent US reciprocal tariff will have a limited impact on the Philippine economy, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and CreditSights said.
“The announced US tariffs may have a limited direct impact on gross domestic product (GDP) growth given that the Philippines’ economy is largely fueled by domestic demand,” ADB senior country economist for the Philippines Jacqueline Connell told the Philippine News Agency on Thursday.
However, Connell cautioned that the broader effects of a global slowdown and trade uncertainty could weigh on growth.
“These could have effects across various channels, including disruptions in global supply chains and investment patterns, and interactions with financial markets. As noted earlier, business sentiment has softened amid heightened volatilities and uncertainties,” she said.
Connell emphasized the need to improve the investment climate and infrastructure to enhance competitiveness.
“These factors will be important in making the country a more attractive trading partner and investment destination amidst possible relocation of global supply chains,” she added.
CreditSights, a FitchSolutions company, noted that the 19 percent tariff is lower compared to other Southeast Asian countries—Laos (40 percent), Cambodia (36 percent ), Malaysia (25 percent), Vietnam 0 percent on all exports, 46 percent on transshipments) and Singapore (10 percent).
“We anticipate the US tariffs to have a limited impact on the Philippines’ economy,” CreditSights said.
“BMI and CreditSights’ sovereign analyst expect growth in the Philippines to remain resilient, with full-year 2025 GDP growth close to the lower bound of the central bank’s 5.5 percent target range,” the report said. / PNA