U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House on Tuesday, announcing that the two countries were nearing completion of a significant trade agreement.
“We’re going to discuss trade today, and we’re very close to finalising a major deal,” Trump told reporters as the meeting began.
Marcos is the first Southeast Asian leader to visit Trump during his second term. The U.S. president has already secured trade agreements with Vietnam and Indonesia- key regional allies but has adopted a firm stance even with long-standing partners, amid intensifying strategic competition with China.
Last year, the United States recorded a nearly $5 billion trade deficit with the Philippines out of $23.5 billion in bilateral goods trade. Earlier this month, Trump increased proposed tariffs on Philippine imports from 17% to 20%, describing them as “reciprocal” measures.
Trump noted the scale of trade between the two countries, expressing surprise at what he described as “very big numbers” that he believes will increase further once a trade deal is signed.
Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, suggested that Marcos may secure more favourable terms than those agreed by Vietnam (20% baseline tariff) and Indonesia (19%).
Trump also highlighted the strength of the U.S.-Philippine defence partnership, saying, “They’re a militarily important nation, and we’ve conducted some excellent joint exercises recently.”
Marcos, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, held talks at the Pentagon with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday and later met Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He is also scheduled to meet with American business leaders interested in investing in the Philippines.
According to Philippine officials, Marcos intends to emphasise that economic resilience is essential for the country to play a meaningful role as a U.S. partner in the Indo-Pacific region.
Assistant Foreign Secretary Raquel Solano stated last week that Philippine trade negotiators have been working closely with U.S. counterparts to reach a “mutually acceptable and beneficial” agreement.
Norway has joined in the condemnation of recent incidents of Russian violation of allied airspaces with the latest being Denmark and at the same time ...
Russia’s special presidential envoy for Afghanistan has warned that any return by the United States to Afghan soil would end in “disaster” for W...
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is currently on a working visit to New York, where he has held a series of bilateral meetings with repre...
Semiconductor shares from Asia to Europe rose sharply on Tuesday after Nvidia unveiled a $100 billion partnership with OpenAI to build massive Artific...
Norway has joined in the condemnation of recent incidents of Russian violation of allied airspaces with the latest being Denmark and at the same time revealed that its airspace was violated three times by Russia over spring and summer this year.
On Tuesday, NATO denounced Russia for breaching Estonian airspace last week, warning it would employ “all necessary military and non-military tools” in its defence against what it described as “a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour” by Moscow.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is currently on a working visit to New York, where he has held a series of bilateral meetings with representatives of major businesses and international organisations.
Semiconductor shares from Asia to Europe rose sharply on Tuesday after Nvidia unveiled a $100 billion partnership with OpenAI to build massive Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems requiring millions of processors.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Norway has joined in the condemnation of recent incidents of Russian violation of allied airspaces with the latest being Denmark and at the same time revealed that its airspace was violated three times by Russia over spring and summer this year.
On Tuesday, NATO denounced Russia for breaching Estonian airspace last week, warning it would employ “all necessary military and non-military tools” in its defence against what it described as “a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour” by Moscow.
Russia has launched a series of attacks on Ukraine's railways since the summer, using long-range drones to target key points, but the network is still functioning, the state railway CEO of Ukrzaliznytsia told Reuters.
Danish police said on Tuesday that drones that shut the country's main airport a day earlier appeared to have been flown by "a capable operator" seeking to demonstrate certain abilities, adding that no suspects had been identified.
French international football player Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) said that despite not having a personal goal of winning the Ballon d’Or, he could not hold back tears when he spoke about his family after being named the world’s best player on Monday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment