Tariff talks with US not yet finished — officials

Amid criticisms of the minimal reduction in the tariff slapped by the US on Philippine exports and concerns on the impact of zero tariff on US products, the Marcos administration said yesterday that the trade talks between Manila and Washington are not yet over.

- By ALEXIS ROMERO

"The negotiations are not yet finished. Our technical working groups will continue to work with their counterparts from America to finalize the details of this arrangement. A lot of things have to be discussed so we are not yet done with this," Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go said at a Palace press briefing.

"All the fine print (has to be discussed). It's like a contract with a lot of details that have to be threshed out. Of course, we will fight for our other sectors here in the Philippines that are exporting to America. Of course, we will ask for favors for our export industries," Go said.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez echoed this, saying the lowering of the planned tariff from 20 to 19 percent is "a good deal for the moment, but there is still more that we can do and there will still be more discussions ahead."

"It is not yet final. We have until Aug. 1 to finalize everything," Romualdez was quoted by a Palace press release as saying.

After his meeting with President Marcos in Washington last Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that Philippine exports to the US would be levied a 19-percent tariff, lower than the 20 percent he relayed to the Philippine government this month, but higher than the original 17 percent he unveiled in April.

The deal will also scrap the tariffs on American automobile imports and increase the Philippines' imports from the US for soy products, wheat and pharmaceuticals.

While Marcos called the revised tariff a "significant achievement," other sectors are concerned that the opening of the Philippine market to goods imported from the US would hurt Philippine industries.