By David Brunnstrom and Karen Lema
WASHINGTON/MANILA (Reuters) -Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets U.S. President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally will secure a more favorable trade deal before an August 1 deadline.
Marcos will be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China.
“I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also on trade,” Marcos said in a speech before leaving Manila. “We will see how much progress we can make when it comes to the negotiations with the United States concerning the changes that we would like to institute to alleviate the effects of a very severe tariff schedule on the Philippines.”
The United States had a deficit of nearly $5 billion with the Philippines last year on bilateral goods trade of $23.5 billion. Trump this month raised the threatened “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from the Philippines to 20% from 17% threatened in April.
Although U.S. allies in Asia such as Japan and South Korea have yet to strike trade deals with Trump, Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Marcos might be able to do better than Vietnam, with its agreement of a 20% baseline tariff on its goods, and Indonesia at 19%.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see an announcement of a deal with the Philippines at a lower rate than those two,” Poling said.
Marcos, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, is due to hold talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday before meeting Trump at the White House on Tuesday. He will also meet U.S. business leaders investing in the Philippines during his trip.
‘MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL’ DEAL
Philippine officials say Marcos’ focus will be on economic cooperation and Manila’s concerns about the tariffs. They say he will stress that Manila must become economically stronger if it is to serve as a truly robust partner for the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific.
Philippine Assistant Foreign Secretary Raquel Solano said last week trade officials have been working with U.S. counterparts seeking to seal a “mutually acceptable and mutually beneficial” deal for both countries.
Trump and Marcos will also discuss defense and security, and Solano said the Philippine president would be looking to further strengthen the longstanding defense alliance.
With the Philippines facing intense pressure from China in the contested South China Sea, Marcos has pivoted closer to the U.S., expanding its access to Philippine military bases amid China’s threats towards Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by Beijing.
The United States and the Philippines have a seven-decade-old mutual defense treaty and hold dozens of annual exercises,which have included training with U.S. Typhon missile system,and more recently with the NMESIS anti-ship missile system, angering China.
Manila and the U.S. have closely aligned their views on China, Poling said, and it is notable that Rubio and Hegseth made sure their Philippine counterparts were the first Southeast Asian officials they met.
Poling said Trump also seemed to have a certain warmth towards Marcos, based on their phone call after the election.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington and Karen Lema in Manila; Editing by William Mallard)
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