Go Leads Team That Will Negotiate Tariff With US

President Marcos' aide for economic matters will negotiate with the US trade representative on the 17 percent tariff imposed by the Trump administration on Philippine exports even if Manila sees the reciprocal duty having only a slight impact on the economy.

- By ALEXIS ROMERO

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go said the Philippine government has reached out to the US Trade Representative (USTR) and has communicated its intention to engage in a meeting or a dialogue on the tariff policy.

"They have positively responded so I will be scheduling a trip to the United States to meet with the USTR soon," Go said in a press briefing yesterday.

"I think the keywords are probably not (to) appeal. This is a negotiation and, of course, in my opinion, the best possible outcome is a free trade agreement. Free trade agreement means zero tariffs on their side, zero tariffs on our side—that's probably the best possible outcome of that meeting. But again, it's open communication, dialogue, cooperation, and let's see what we can negotiate," he added.

Fears of a global recession and rising prices mounted after US President Donald Trump decided to slap reciprocal tariffs on more than 100 countries, including the Philippines, "to promote American industries."