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Philippines should forge more trade pacts to cushion US tariff impact, says HSBC
Business World Philippines
|October 22, 2025
THE PHILIPPINES should pursue more free trade agreements (FTAs) to shield its exports from the fallout of the US' widening trade war, HSBC Global Investment Research said in a report.
"The Philippines will need to reach out to more and larger countries to potentially decouple itself from the US and make its exports more resilient," HSBC economists said.
The call followed the latest round of tariffs imposed by US President Donald J. Trump on several global trade partners, including a 19% levy on Philippine goods the same rate applied to Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand.
While the Philippines' average tariff rate remains lower than some of its peers, HSBC warned that the situation could deteriorate once Washington finalizes additional sectoral tariffs.
"Malaysia and the Philippines are not out of the woods," the bank said. "With sectoral tariffs on electronics potentially soon, Malaysia and the Philippines will likely follow suit and see their effective tariff rate rise. We believe it's just a matter of when."
This story is from the October 22, 2025 edition of Business World Philippines.
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