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The Philippines faces the lightest blow from Washington’s new tariff regime—just 17 % on average and with a third of its exports exempt—positioning Manila to lure trade and investment diverted from harder-hit neighbours, a Philippine Institute for Development Studies report says.
A Tariff Exposure Composite Index compiled by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) puts Manila’s overall risk at “moderate,” with an average U.S. duty of just 17 % — the smallest among the five countries surveyed (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines).
Although the Philippines has not escaped the trade friction sparked by President Donald Trump’s import taxes, its exposure is limited by generous exemptions: roughly one-third of Philippine shipments to the United States — mainly semiconductors, memory chips and storage devices — remain duty-free. By contrast, Indonesia pays a 32 % tariff and secures exemptions on only about 10 % of its exports, even though both nations share the same composite risk score of 2.2.
Vietnam and Thailand face far steeper headline tariffs of 46 % and 36 %, respectively, though those rates have been suspended until July. They also rank higher on the PIDS risk index, at 3.4 and 3.0, reflecting heavier reliance on the U.S. market and thinner exemption coverage.
Malaysia places second-best after the Philippines, with a 24 % duty and the region’s widest shield: exemptions protect nearly 46 % of its U.S. sales, largely in electronics and semiconductor equipment, giving it a risk score of 2.8.
Despite the advantage, PIDS warns the Philippines still trails Malaysia and Vietnam in manufacturing scale, logistics and its ability to absorb fresh investment. “The Philippines is strategically positioned to benefit,” wrote study author and former trade undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba. “Its low tariff rate, strong exemptions for key exports and moderate exposure create an opportunity to attract trade and investment shifts. But real gains will hinge on rapid improvements in logistics, investment facilitation and targeted export promotion.”
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.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Large parts of Kyiv were plunged into darkness in the early hours of Friday after Russian drones and missiles struck Ukrainian energy facilities, cutting power and water to homes and halting a key metro link across the Dnipro river.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for promoting democratic rights in her country and her struggle to achieve a transition to democracy, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
Today, 10 October, the CIS Heads of State Council meeting is underway in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in a limited format attended by leaders from member states.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 10th of October, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Peru's Congress voted unanimously on Friday to remove President Dina Boluarte from office in a late-night session held hours after political blocs from across the spectrum called for her ouster.
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