Philippines' Marcos to meet Trump hoping to secure trade deal

21/7/2025 12:35

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets U.S. President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila's status as a key Asian ally will secure a more favorable trade deal before an August 1 deadline.



Marcos will be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila's regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China.

Marcos said in a speech before leaving Manila, "I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also on trade. We will see how much progress we can make when it comes to the negotiations with the United States concerning the changes that we would like to institute to alleviate the effects of a very severe tariff schedule on the Philippines."



The United States had a deficit of nearly $5 billion with the Philippines last year on bilateral goods trade of $23.5 billion. Trump this month raised the threatened "reciprocal" tariffs on imports from the Philippines to 20% from 17% threatened in April.