Arthur Fuentes

Robinsons Land President Frederick Go at the launching of the Green Lanes for Strategic Investments held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza grand ballroom in Pasay City on July 13, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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Frederick Go

Benise Balaoing

Pia Gutierrez

ABS-CBN News

<div> </div>MANILA (UPDATE) — The Philippines remains committed to trade talks with the United States despite the latter imposing a 20 percent tariff on Philippine exports, Presidential Assistant on Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go said Thursday.&quot;So myself, together with DTI Secretary Chris Roque and Under Secretary Perry Rodolfo and Undersecretary Allan Gepty will be flying to the United States next week. This is actually a scheduled trip to the United States, even before today&#x27;s announcement,&quot; the economic czar told reporters.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/7/9/trump-issues-more-letters-to-countries-in-push-for-tariff-deals-1315" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trump issues letters to the Philippines, other countries in push for tariff deals</a></div>&quot;At our level, the purpose talaga ng trip, ay para harap-harapan na  mag-negotiate,&quot; Go said. He noted that after his last trip to meet with his counterparts, there were only email exchanges.&quot;I think face-to-face meeting is far more effective,&quot; he said.Go noted, however, that the &quot;more important thing&quot; for economic managers is working towards a free trade agreement or a bilateral comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the US.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/5/5/econ-czar-go-says-meeting-with-us-trade-representative-went-extremely-well-1517" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Econ czar Go says meeting with US Trade Representative went &#x27;extremely well&#x27;</a></div>&quot;Dito po talagang, makakahingi rin po tayo, galing sa America ng specific tariff concessions,&quot; he explained.Asked how confident he is that the tariffs will be softened after the negotiations, Go said: &quot;We&#x27;ll do our best.&quot; The official said the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) is still assessing the impact of a 20 percent tariff on the Philippine economy. He also said that he is not aware of any discussions of the Philippines imposing retaliatory tariffs on items from the US. &quot;I just wanted to say that, of course, the economic team, the DTI, will continue to advance key economic reforms to sustain a competitive and investor-friendly business environment and to try to build more trade relationships with other countries all over the world, to create more market opportunities for our business enterprises dito po sa Pilipinas,&quot; Go said.The DTI meanwhile said that the Philippines still has the second lowest tariff rate on countries in the region. The DTI also said that while it recognizes US concerns about trade imbalances and beefing up its domestic manufacturing, global supply chains are now interconnected. &quot;Thus we believe in constructive engagement to address trade issues,&quot; the DTI said.Apart from tariffs targeting goods from different countries, Trump has also rolled out sector-specific duties on steel, aluminum and autos since returning to the White House in January. The Philippine government meanwhile assured that the new tariff rates will not affect semiconductors, which comprise majority of the country’s exports to the United States for now.“Our number one export sa Amerika ay semiconductors and electronics ‘no. And as of today, a very, very large of that is exempted from the reciprocal tariffs,” Go said.The increase in reciprocal tariffs came even as Malacañang earlier expressed confidence that the Philippines is in a ‘good position’ in negotiating the tariffs.“I think there are some posturing here,” Go said when asked what could have gone wrong.-- with reports from Agence France-Presse

The Philippines remains committed to trade talks with the United States despite the latter imposing a 20 percent tariff on Philippine exports, the country's economic czar said.

The Philippines remains committed to trade talks with the United States despite the latter imposing a 20 percent tariff on Philippine exports, the country's economic czar said.

PH 'committed' to trade talks as US slaps 20 pct tariff on exports: economic czar

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PH 'committed' to trade talks as US slaps 20 pct tariff on exports: economic czar

Benise Balaoing,

Pia Gutierrez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 10, 2025 01:43 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 10, 2025 04:56 PM PHT

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