Philippine President Marcos Jr. Meet Trump At The White House To Discuss Trade Agreement

US President Donald Trump/PHOTO via Instagram @whitehouse

JAKARTA - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. Discussion of the trade agreement is the main agenda of the meeting of the two.

Marcos became the first Southeast Asian leader to meet him in his second term.

Trump has now reached a trade agreement with two regional partners Manila, Vietnam, and Indonesia, but has pushed for tough bargaining in negotiations even with the close allies Washington needs to remain on its side in its strategic rivalry with China.

"I hope our discussions will focus on security and defense, of course, but also trading," Marcos said before leaving Manila.

"We will see how much progress we can achieve in negotiations with the United States regarding the changes we want to implement to ease the impact of very strict rates on the Philippines," he continued.

The United States experienced a deficit of nearly $5 billion with the Philippines last year in bilateral goods trading of $23.5 billion. This month, Trump raised the threat of a "return" rate against Philippine imports to 20% of the 17% threatened in April.

Although US allies in Asia such as Japan and South Korea have yet to reach a trade agreement with Trump, Gregory Poling, Southeast Asian expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Marcos may be able to reach a better deal than Vietnam, with a 20% base rate deal for his belongings, and Indonesia at 19%.

"I would not be surprised to see the announcement of a deal with the Philippines at a lower rate than the two," he said.

Marcos, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, went to the Pentagon on Monday to negotiate with Defense Minister Pete Hegseth and then meet with Foreign Minister Marco Rubio. During his visit, he will also meet US business leaders investing in the Philippines.