US imposes 17% tariff on PH products

Palace says impact is minimal

- BY BETHEENA UNITE and ELLSON QUISMORIO

The Philippines will only suffer minimal impact from the 17-percent reciprocal tariff imposed by the United States government on the products it is importing from the country, Malacañang said.

While the government has yet to determine the industries that will be affected by the tariff, Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said its impact will not be that huge.

She even considered it as "good news," given that the tariff imposed by the Trump administration on the Philippines was among the lowest globally.

"As of now, we have no details on what industries are possibly affected, but perhaps this 17 percent imposed tariff can be considered as good news because many countries have higher tariffs. And it appears that we are the second lowest, next to Singapore," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, April 3. "According to the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), the impact will not be huge, it will only be very minimal." At present, Castro said, the government has no plans of appealing to the US government to reduce the tariff, adding that the Philippines accepts the new development.