US strikes ‘obliterated' Iran's nuclear ambitions, Pentagon chief says
WASHINGTON — US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that US military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities were an incredible and overwhelming success that have obliterated Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
The US strikes included 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft, in an operation the top US general, General Dan Caine, said was named "Operation Midnight."
The operation pushes the Middle East to the brink of a major new conflagration in a region already aflame for more than 20 months with wars in Gaza and Lebanon and a toppled dictator in Syria.
"Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated," Hegseth told reporters in a briefing, adding that said the strikes did not target Iranian troops or people.
"The operation President Trump planned was bold and it was brilliant, showing the world that American deterrence is back. When this president speaks, the world should listen," Hegseth said. — Reuters
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GMA Network
16 hours ago
- GMA Network
US trade deal will boost food PH supply, cut prices — DA
Locally-produced agricultural goods such as rice, corn, sugar, chicken, fish, and pork will be protected in the ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States, according to the Department of Agriculture on Sunday. 'Secretary Frederick Go and Trade Secretary Cristina Roque have assured us that the top priority for Philippine trade negotiators is protecting our local producers,' said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. in a statement said. Earlier, President Donald Trump had announced that the Philippines has agreed to a 19 percent tariff on its exports to the US, while granting duty-free access to American goods entering the country. However, Malacañang clarified that a final trade agreement is still being finalized by trade negotiators. According to the DA, Go, Special Assistant to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for Investment and Economic Affairs, 'assured the Philippines has not made any concessions that would harm local producers. His remarks come amid growing concern over the potential impact of a tariff deal on key Philippine industries.' 'Secretary Go has maintained that any trade agreement must strike a balance between improving market access and safeguarding the livelihoods of Filipino workers and farmers,' the DA said. — RF, GMA Integrated News


GMA Network
a day ago
- GMA Network
Salceda optimistic about PH entering into FTA with US
Economist Joey Salceda on Saturday expressed optimism that the Philippines will enter into a free trade agreement with the United States following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s White House meeting with US President Donald Trump earlier this week. Salceda made the statement after Marcos negotiated a zero tariff plan for some American goods entering the country in exchange for a lower tariff rate for Philippine exports to the US. 'When Marcos said we are offering you zero tariffs, that is an invitation we can do an FTA,' Salceda said at a news forum in Quezon City. The economist added that now that Trump is more open to bilateral trade talks instead of forming multilateral partnerships, 'it is no longer that impossible that we can work out a free trade agreement.' The former lawmaker recalled that the Philippines was not able to join the Obama administration-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) since there was a requirement to allow foreign ownership of land, which the Philippine Constitution prohibits. 'So when Marcos said, 'We are offering them zero [tariffs],' he was trying to [persuade] the US administration into a Free Trade Agreement,' Salceda said. Early morning on Wednesday (Philippine time), Trump announced a new 19% tariff rate for Philippine goods entering America. This is lower than the 20% announced in a letter earlier this month but higher than the 17% rate announced last April on what the US president referred to as Liberation Day. The US chief executive initially said the Philippines is going "open market" with the United States with zero tariffs, while the Philippines would pay a 19% tariff. Marcos, however, has since clarified that the zero tariffs on US products would only apply to certain markets, such as automobiles. The President also committed to increasing imports of soy, wheat, and pharmaceuticals from the US. Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs of the Philippines Frederick Go bared that American agri-fisheries commodities, considered 'sensitive' for the local sector, entering the country are not included in the zero tariff scheme offered to the US. Salceda, meanwhile, explained that only 31% of Philippine exports are subject to Trump's 19% tariff, while the rest—such as electronics, wood, metals, fuels, and chemicals—are covered by multiple trade agreements for exemptions. For Salceda, the effective rate was actually 6.3%, in favor of the Philippines. The lawmaker said the Philippines will benefit mostly from an FTA with the US, as it would result in cheaper products and an increase in investments from American firms. 'Definitely, from tariff savings alone there will be higher consumer welfare aside from the creation of jobs from new investments in manufacturing,' he said. Data from the US Trade Representative showed America's goods trade with the Philippines totaled $23.5 billion in 2024. Broken down, the US goods exports to Manila stood at $9.3 billion, while its imports amounted to $14.2 billion, resulting in a trade-in-goods deficit with the Philippines of $4.9 billion in 2024, up 21.8% year-on-year. Meanwhile, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the US was the country's top export destination in 2024, accounting for 16.6% or $12.14 billion of the total export receipts of $73.27 billion. — VBL, GMA Integrated News

GMA Network
2 days ago
- GMA Network
Concessions in trade deal with US won't result in 'significant damage to local industries'
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 22, 2025. REUTERS/ Kent Nishimura The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI), an umbrella organization of 48 various agriculture industry groups, on Friday welcomed the government's move not to give zero duties for American agri-fisheries entering the country following the recent tariff negotiations between President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and United States President Donald Trump. 'We commend the government's trade negotiators for protecting critical local agriculture industries in the negotiations,' PCAFI said in a statement. 'Secretary [Frederick] Go clearly stated that vital agricultural industries like sugar, corn, rice, chicken, pork, and seafood were not part of the concessions, thus keeping their current protection in the form of tariffs and other measures,' the agribusiness group said. Go, Marcos' special assistant for investment and economic affairs, announced that the Philippines did not include key agricultural commodities in the concessions it gave out when it negotiated to lower the reciprocal tariff for the country's exports to the US. Early morning on Wednesday (Philippine time), Trump announced a new 19% tariff rate for Philippine goods entering America. This is lower than the 20% announced in a letter earlier this month but higher than the 17% rate announced last April on what the US president referred to as Liberation Day. Trump initially said the Philippines was going "open market" with the US with zero tariffs, while the Philippines would pay a 19% tariff. Marcos, however, has since clarified that the zero tariffs on US products would only apply to certain markets, such as automobiles. The President also committed to increasing imports of soy, wheat, and pharmaceuticals from the US. 'The two clear concessions that the Philippines made—wheat and soy products—will not result in significant damage to local industries but may even yield positive results in the form of cheaper animal feed products,' PCAFI said. 'It is also worthy to note that these two products are not produced locally and are already among the top agricultural imports of the country from the United States,' it added. The agribusiness group said it hopes the government will continue to protect the interests of local farmers and fisherfolk 'who remain as the lifeblood of our country's food security.' 'We will remain vigilant in the ongoing bilateral negotiations since the final trade deal has yet to be finalized,' it said. On the reduction of the tariff rate the US will charge on goods from the Philippines from 20% to 19%, PCAFI said it is still a 'positive development' but expressed 'hope that the US tariffs can be reduced further for the benefit of our agricultural exporters.' 'The silver lining of the recent developments is the fact that the Philippines has the second-lowest tariff rate among Southeast Asian countries, giving us a tariff advantage against neighboring countries that produce and export almost the same agricultural products as ours,' the group said. 'They were able to lower the tariff rate at minimal costs to the country compared to other countries like Vietnam and Indonesia that had to sacrifice a lot, as what Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go mentioned,' it added. —VBL, GMA Integrated News