Philippines waives visas for visitors from Taiwan in boost for ties
The Philippine government announced Thursday that starting July 1, visitors from Taiwan can enter the Philippines for 14 days without a visa. The Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the de facto embassy in Taipei, said the waiver only applies for tourism purposes, and is not extendable or convertible.
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The Diplomat
4 days ago
- The Diplomat
Trump Announces Trade Deal With Philippines, Small Reduction in Tariff Rate
The U.S. leader said that Washington would apply a 19 percent tariff on Philippine imports, while Manila has agreed to remove all of its tariffs on American goods. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a new 19 percent tariff rate for imports from the Philippines, after a meeting with visiting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House. Trump made the announcement in a post on his Truth Social media platform after the meeting with Marcos, calling the Philippine leader a 'very good and tough negotiator.' 'It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19% Tariff,' Trump wrote. 'In addition, we will work together Militarily.' Marcos arrived in Washington on Sunday for a three-day trip during which he also met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as with U.S. business leaders investing in the Philippines. Speaking to reporters with Marcos, the U.S. leader announced that the two countries were 'very close to finishing a trade deal – a big trade deal, actually.' Trump's announcement comes after he claimed to have finalized similar deals with Vietnam, which negotiated a rate of 20 percent, and Indonesia, whose tariff is now set at 19 percent. (The White House yesterday released more details on the Indonesia agreement, although elements of the agreement with Vietnam have reportedly yet to be finalized.) According to an undated draft of the Philippines-U.S. Agreement on Reciprocal Trade obtained by The Diplomat, the Philippines has agreed to remove nearly all of its tariffs and non-tariff barriers on U.S. imports, including quotas and import licensing requirements, and to bolster intellectual property protections. 'These commitments,' the draft agreement states, 'are intended to enhance reciprocity between the Parties by reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers in the territory of the Philippines and increasing alignment between the United States and the Philippines on economic and national security matters.' The U.S. had a goods trade deficit of $4.9 billion with the Philippines last year, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. As with the two previous agreements with Indonesia and Vietnam, a higher tariff rate will apply to any goods that are deemed to have been transshipped to the U.S. via the Philippines from any third country (i.e. China). The draft agreement states that the 19 percent rate will not apply in the event that a certain percentage of a good 'originates from certain countries not party to this Agreement.' Neither the exact local content threshold nor the tariff on transshipped goods were finalized in the draft, although Trump announced that the rate for Vietnam has been set at 40 percent. (How transshipped goods are to be identified and verified, and by whom, is yet to be determined in any of these cases.) The draft agreement also contains a number of provisions relating to economics and national security. It states that the Philippines will cooperate with Washington 'to regulate the trade in national security sensitive technologies and goods through existing multilateral export control regimes, align with all unilateral export controls in force by the United States, and ensure that its companies do not backfill or undermine these controls.' The agreement also states that the Philippines 'shall adopt and effectively enforce provisions to combat transshipment and other practices to evade or circumvent duties' and that the U.S. 'shall work with the Philippines to streamline and enhance defense trade.' Most notably, the draft states that the U.S. has the right to terminate the agreement if the Philippines 'enters into a new bilateral free trade agreement or preferential economic agreement' with any 'country of concern.' In light of all of these concessions, and its status as a longstanding and 'ironclad' U.S. security ally, it is surprising that the Philippines was unable to secure a greater reduction in the tariff rate. The 19 percent tariff was marginally lower than the 20 percent threatened by Trump in a letter to Marcos earlier this month, but higher than the 17 percent announced in Trump's 'liberation day' tariff announcement in April. It is also notably worse than the 15 percent rate that Trump announced today with Japan, another U.S. ally. The response on Philippine social media has reportedly been unfavorable to Marcos, with many users calling the Philippine leader 'weak' and stating that the risks of the U.S.-Philippine alliance have not been properly counterbalanced by greater U.S. concessions. In a post on X, Renato Reyes Jr., a member of the left-wing Makabayan political coalition, described the agreement as 'a grossly lopsided 'deal' which is really more of an imposition rather than the outcome of any negotiations' and called on the Marcos administration to 'fully disclose' its terms. The national security analyst Justin Baquisal wrote on X that while it remains to be seen whether these political talking points hurt Marcos' political prospects, 'the lack of better treatment for US allies vs non-aligners (esp compared to the original Liberation Day margins) is not doing anybody favors.' 'Most Reliable Ally' Marcos is the first Southeast Asian leader to visit the White House since the beginning of Trump's second term, a reflection of the warmth of the relationship between the two allies. Speaking to reporters at the start of the meeting in the Oval Office, Marcos described the U.S. as his country's 'strongest, closest, most reliable ally,' while Trump praised the Philippine leader, describing him as coming from a 'great family' with a 'great family legacy.' (Marcos' father, Ferdinand E. Marcos, ruled the Philippines through fear and force for more than two decades, including 14 years under Martial Law.) Aside from the trade issue, security and defense were also on the agenda during the Marcos-Trump meeting. Security cooperation between the two nations has increased markedly in recent years as a result of China's growing maritime power and ambition. During Marcos' three years in office, Beijing has increased the frequency and intensity of its incursions into Philippine-claimed waters, which it claims under its expansive 'nine-dash line' claim, resulting in a string of dangerous encounters between the two nations' coast guards. Under Marcos, the Philippines has opened more of its military facilities to a rotational U.S. presence under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, and increased military exercises and joint patrols. The visit did not witness the signing of any new defense cooperation initiatives, but in their meetings with Marcos, both Hegseth and Rubio reaffirmed that the U.S. will come to the Philippines' defense under the Mutual Defense Treaty if its forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea – an assurance that has been consistently made since the first Trump administration. Marcos told Hegseth that the assurance of mutual defense 'continues to be the cornerstone' of the U.S.-Philippines relationship and thanked the U.S. for support 'that we need in the face of the threats that we, our country, is facing.' Speaking alongside Trump, Marcos said that 'we are essentially concerned with the defense of our territory and the exercise of our sovereign rights,' adding, 'Our strongest, closest, most reliable ally has always been the United States.' As the AFP news agency reported, Trump 'devoted much of the appearance to attacks on his Democratic predecessors Biden and Barack Obama.' In a possibly significant aside, Trump address relations with China, saying that he would 'probably' visit the country 'in the not-too-distant future.' While taking credit for 'untilt[ing]' the Philippines away from China (the shift in Manila's policy took place under the Biden administration), he said that the Philippines was independent in its dealings with Beijing. 'Do whatever you need to do,' Trump told Marcos, the Associated Press reported. 'But your dealing with China wouldn't bother me at all.'
Japan Today
4 days ago
- Japan Today
Tokyo's Nikkei leads Asian rally after Japan-US trade deal
Japanese car makers soared on news that US tariffs on the sector would be slashed from 25 percent to 15 percent Tokyo stocks rallied with the yen Wednesday after Japan and the United States finally hammered out a trade deal to slash Donald Trump's tariffs, including those on the crucial car sector. Investors were also cheered by news that Washington had reached agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines, stoking optimism that other countries will achieve deals to avoid the worst of the US president's levies. Despite a lack of deals being made leading up to Trump's self-imposed August 1 cut-off date, equity markets have been on the march in recent weeks on optimism that governments will eventually get over the line. Japan had been one of those yet to sign, despite a string of trips to Washington by trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa, dampening investor sentiment in Tokyo. But Trump said Tuesday that officials had agreed to a "massive" deal that would include a 15 percent tariff on imports from Japan, down from the previously threatened 25 percent. The pact also saw the 25 percent levy on autos -- a major export to the United States -- slashed to 15 percent. "We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made," Trump announced on his Truth Social platform. "Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits." He did not provide further details on the investment plan, but claimed the deal "will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs." Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that he needed to examine the deal before commenting. Akazawa wrote on X: "Mission accomplished." Traders poured back into the market, pushing the Nikkei up more than two percent thanks to soaring automakers. Tokyo and Mitsubishi rocketed around 12 percent and Nissan jumped more than nine percent. The yen strengthened to 146.20 per dollar -- compared with close to 148 Tuesday. The unit had already enjoyed a recent tick-up after Ishiba vowed to remain in office despite a devastating weekend election loss. Trump also hailed an agreement with Manila that will see the toll on Philippine goods lowered by one percentage point to 19 percent, while tariffs on Indonesia were slashed from 32 percent to 19 percent. Shares in Manila and Jakarta rose. The announcements boosted hopes that other deals could be in the pipeline before next Friday's deadline, though talks with the European Union and South Korea remain elusive for now. Still, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week for talks, as a separate mid-August deadline approaches for US levies on Beijing to snap back to steeper levels. Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong built on its 2025 surge to hit its highest level since late 2021, while Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Taipei were also well up. Seoul was flat and Wellington dipped. The advances came after a broadly positive day on Wall Street where the S&P 500 hit another peak but the Nasdaq snapped a six-day streak of records. Eyes are also on the release of earnings from Google parent Alphabet and other tech giants including Tesla and Intel. © 2025 AFP
Yomiuri Shimbun
5 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
US-Philippines Trade Talks Yield Modest Tariff Shift after Trump-Marcos Meeting
WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a new 19% tariff rate for goods from the Philippines after what he called a 'beautiful visit' by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the White House, and said U.S. goods would pay zero tariffs. The new tariff rate is just below the 20% threatened by Trump earlier this month, but still above the 17% rate set in April when Trump announced what he called reciprocal tariff rates for dozens of countries. It matches the 19% rate announced for Indonesia and bests Vietnam's slightly higher rate of 20%. Trump posted the news on his Truth Social media platform after meeting with Marcos in the Oval Office, where he had earlier signaled a deal could be reached during the visit. 'It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19% Tariff,' Trump said, calling Marcos a 'very good and tough negotiator.' Trump said the two Pacific allies, who will celebrate 80 years of diplomatic relations next year, would also work together militarily but gave no details. Marcos, the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term, told reporters at the start of the meeting that the United States was his country's 'strongest, closest, most reliable ally.' He had no comment after Trump's post on the new tariff rate. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said it represents 'an evolving good deal for both countries that could be further improved over time.' Trump said the 'very big numbers' in the trade agreement would only grow larger. The U.S. had a deficit of nearly $5 billion with the Philippines last year on bilateral goods trade of $23.5 billion. Trump has upended global trade flows with tariffs on nearly every trading partner, with almost all countries facing a 10% tariff that took effect in April and many facing steep additional tariffs from August 1. Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it was too early to say much about the Philippines trade deal since no details had been released, as was the case with similar pacts with Indonesia and Vietnam. 'At the end of the day, I don't think the Philippine government is sweating the final number so long as it keeps Philippine-made goods competitive with those of its neighbors, which this does,' Poling said. The White House announced further details of a framework for a U.S.-Indonesia trade agreementon Tuesday, saying negotiators were due to finalize the terms in coming weeks. During the Oval Office event, Trump said he may visit China for a landmark trip 'in the not-too-distant future' and noted the Philippines had distanced itself from Beijing after his election last November. 'The country was maybe tilting toward China, but we un-tilted it very, very quickly,' Trump said. Philippine officials had said Marcos planned to stress that Manila must become economically stronger if it is to serve as a truly robust U.S. partner in the Indo-Pacific. Protesters gathered near the White House as Marcos arrived, demanding the Philippine leader address pleas of Filipino Americans and migrant workers who have made multiple requests for support amid federal immigration raids.
