US exports to Philippines are subject to zero tariff; Philippine exports to US face 19% tariff

by Connie Triggiano

Filipinos will experience an influx of US-made products bound for the Philippines tariff-free beginning this month, August.  

The very mention of duty-free US imports flooding the Philippines could immediately prompt visions of exquisite gifts at much reduced prices.  They are the much-yearned-for stateside goods that satisfy the deep and wistful longing for high-end signature brands  in  time for Christmas shopping  which  starts September in the Philippines.  

But no, the recently forged tariff agreement between the US and the Philippines does not spawn such wishful  gifts galore for the holidays.

Rather, economists have expressed concern over what they called “lopsided”  19% US tariff for Philippine exports vs. 0% tariff for US automobiles, wheat, soy and pharmaceutical products entering the Philippines.  No other product types are known to have been included in the first tranche of US goods geared for the open Philippines market. 

Local officials particularly the Akbayan Party List group expressed  dismay over what they described as an undermined trade deal, claiming it endangers locally-produced merchandise  most vulnerable to market share loss as they will compete with US goods and also blunt the capacity of Filipino exporters for trading with the US given the imposed 19% tariff on Philippine products.

For his part, Philippine President Marcos Jr. framed the deal as a “compromise to maintain access” to a critical export market.  The local government also stressed special provisions for military cooperation and more trade talks in the future.  

President Trump said the deal is part of a broader strategy addressing trade imbalances and “geopolitical interests” in the Indo-Pacific region. Per data from the Office of US Trade Representative, US exports to the Philippines in 2024 reached $9.3 billion while imports totaled $14.2 billion.

Connie Triggiano is currently Board Secretary of Circa-Pintig, a Chicago community theater organization. She works as Academic and English tutor assisting foreign students to pass IELTS, TOEFL, Celpic, ESL and other English exams to gain admission to universities in English speaking countries. She also trains greencard holders to pass US citizenship exams and interview. She worked for many years as Vice-President of  Chicago-based Leo Burnett Advertising in its Manila office where she managed the advertising accounts of the country’s biggest brands: Procter & Gamble, Pepsi Cola International, BPI, Vicks, Wyeth and Cathay Pacific. She edited a travel newspaper in Singapore and taught college freshmen in a local university. Connie graduated with a BA degree, major in English, from the University of San Francisco in California while working as an information officer for a United Way agency. She took up MS in Advertising at the Asian Institute for the Development of Advertising, UST Graduate School.