The 19-percent tariff on Philippine exports to the United States, announced following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s meeting with former US President Donald Trump in Washington, is still provisional, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez clarified.
According to a Malacañang release on Thursday, Romualdez said the tariff rate may still be adjusted before the August 1 deadline.
“‘Yung 1 percent na ‘yan ay parang pag-appease lang ‘yan. Parang sinabi ni President Trump, okay, gawin natin 19 percent ‘yan pero gawin nating free importation ng American goods sa Pilipinas (That 1 percent is only for appeasement. President Trump said we’re making it 19 percent but we’re allowing free importation of American goods in the Philippines),” Romualdez said in a DZRH interview.
President Marcos’s three-day visit tackled trade and investment, defense and security cooperation, the welfare of overseas Filipinos, and the broader goal of strengthening economic ties with the US.
Romualdez said the President’s economic team, led by Special Assistant for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, is continuing negotiations with US trade officials.
“In fact, mayroon mga government officials ng US na pupunta diyan na hopefully within the next couple of days at pag-uusapan nila ‘yung tariff. Ika-clarify natin exactly kung ano ‘yung ating agreement na puwede nating i-finalize (In fact, some US government officials will go there in the Philippines hopefully within the next couple of days to talk about the tariff. We will clarify exactly what the agreement we can finalize). Remember, we have until August 1 to finalize everything,” he added.
The ambassador said the current 19-percent figure should not cause alarm. “Medyo relaxed lang tayo dahil ‘di pa naman ‘yan ang final figure (We’re a bit relaxed because that’s not yet the final figure of our discussions)…We’re happy that at least it’s lower than the 20 that is being given to almost everybody. But at the same time, we’re also going to look at the details on how we will be able to fine-tune it so that possibly we can lower it.”
He also assured that agricultural products—especially those produced locally—will not be included in the concessions. Only goods that the Philippines does not produce, or produces in very small quantities, will be considered for zero tariffs.
“So, itong gusto ko lang ulitin na itong umpisa na 19 percent, eh nasa negotiation stage pa rin ‘yan. ‘Yung announcement nila just to really give an indication. In fact, ang tingin namin dito sa visit na ito was a very successful one (I want to repeat that this beginning 19 percent, we’re still in the negotiation stage. The announcement was just to really give an indication. In fact, we think this visit was a very successful one),” he said.
“Nakita naman ninyo sa TV… ito rin sa tariff, nasabi nga ni President Trump na tough negotiator itong si President Marcos (You’ve seen it on TV…also in the tariff, when President Trump said President Marcos is a tough negotiator).”
Romualdez also shared that Trump expressed fondness for Filipinos, saying, “I love Filipinos,” and praised Filipino-Americans working at his golf club.
While the tariff issue is drawing attention, Romualdez noted it is only one of many items on the growing Philippine-US economic agenda.
On undocumented Filipinos in the US, he advised them to legalize their status or consider returning home voluntarily if needed. “Kung wala silang ginawang masama eh by that I mean wala silang kaso na lumalabas sa computer. Obviously, nagka-exchange of information na ngayon eh. So, kung mayroon silang kasong ganoon, iklaro nilang mabuti na wala na ‘yun (If they’re not doing anything wrong, it will come out in the computer. Obviously we have exchange of information now. So if they have those types of cases, they have to clearly state that they’re no longer valid),” he said.
