A Bad Philippines Trade Deal Hurts the US and Helps China
Bongbong Marcos came to Washington and got a whopping 1% reduction on tariffs. That’s no way to treat a country that is vital in deterring China.
Trump made his point to Marcos.
Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines just paid a visit to Washington, and it wasn’t a great success. “Bongbong,” as Marcos is known, wanted to gain relief from the 20% tariff President Donald Trump threatened on Filipino imports. Initial indications are that he got it all the way down to … 19%. On Truth Social, Trump bragged that Manila will open its markets without charge to US goods.
Fortunately, this is just a framework for a deal, and there will be plenty of negotiations over the details. Let’s hope the final version is more generous to Marcos, because there is no overstating how important the Philippines are to US national security in the new era of great-power competition.