Marcos' economic aide to meet with US Trade Representative to discuss tariffs

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go will fly to the United States soon to meet with the US Trade Representative following President Donald Trump's 17% reciprocal tariff on Philippine goods.

''Probably this is what you’ve all been waiting for, but… we have reached out to the United States Trade Representative or USTR na tinatawag. Ang office po na ito, ito iyong responsible for all these trade tariffs ‘no,'' Go said during the Palace press briefing on Thursday.

''So, we’ve reached out to the USTR and we have communicated with them our desire to engage in a meeting or dialogue with them and they have positively responded so I will be scheduling a trip to the United States to meet with the USTR soon,'' he added.

Asked if he would make an appeal before the US government regarding imposing tariffs, Go said it would be a negotiation and not an appeal. He added that a free trade agreement between Washington and Manila would be the best possible outcome of their discussion.

''I think the keywords are probably not appeal, this is a negotiation and of course in my opinion, the best possible outcome is a free trade agreement ‘no – free trade agreement means zero tariffs on their side, zero tariffs on our side – that’s probably the best possible outcome of that meeting but again it’s open communication, dialogue, cooperation and let’s see what we can negotiate,'' Go explained. 

At present, Go said there is a need for the Philippines to engage with its exporters ''to discuss with them what are the possible measures that they can take and that the government can assist them in this current situation.''

''Secondly, we have to monitor kung anong ginagawa ng mga ibang neighbors po natin ‘no, ano iyong mga reaction nila dito sa taripa at ano po ang reaksiyon din ng Estados Unidos sa kanilang mga requests,'' he said.

(Secondly, we have to monitor what our neighbors are doing, what are their reactions to the tariffs and how the US is reacting to their requests.)

Last week, Trump announced a 17% reciprocal tariff on Philippine goods, still “discounted” compared to the 34% tariff that Manila charges against American goods.

Compared to its regional peers, the levy slapped on Manila was relatively lower —Cambodia at 49%, Laos at 48%, Vietnam at 46%, Thailand at 47%, China at 34%, India at 27%, South Korea at 26%, and Malaysia at 24%.

Instead of retaliating, Manila is mulling the possibility of bringing down the tariffs levied on goods imported from the United States on the heels of Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs.

Trade Secretary Maria Cristina Roque has said that the Philippines can take advantage of the relatively lower tariffs imposed on its goods entering America compared to its regional peers.—AOL/RF, GMA Integrated News