Philippines seeks economic strength as Marcos heads to US for Trump talks
The Philippine president aims to secure a US trade deal and bolster security ties with Washington during his visit
Ahead of Marcos, Philippine government officials including Trade Secretary Cristina Roque flew to Washington this week for tariff talks. “We hope of course to arrive at a bilateral trade agreement or a deal on reciprocal trade that is mutually acceptable, mutually beneficial for both our countries,” Solano said.
The Philippines initially held trade talks with the US in May in its bid to lower an earlier threatened 17 per cent levy in April. To secure that, Roque had said Manila plans to increase imports of US farm goods, including soybeans and frozen meat, and boost exports of semiconductors, coconut and mango products to the US.
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“We will continue to underscore that for the Philippines to be a truly strong partner for the United States, we need to be stronger economically as well,” Solano said. Trump and Marcos will discuss “closer cooperation in economic, defence and security matters of common interest,” she added.