President Marcos appealed to the United States Congress to hasten the reauthorization of the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which entails the preferential and duty-free entry of select Philippine products to the American market.
 

President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. delivers a keynote address at the U.S-Philippines Society dinner in Washington, D.C. on April 12, 2024. (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)

Speaking during the Philippine-US Business Forum in Washington D.C., the President underscored that the Philippines’ ties with the United States should not only be seen in the context of defense and security, but rather through economic integration.
 

“For this reason, we appeal to the U.S. Congress to fast track the reauthorization of the U.S. GSP program which has benefitted beneficiary countries such as the Philippines,” he said.
 

“On the other hand, the Philippines is also a major market for US products, and in 2021, based on data from the US Department of Agriculture, the Philippines is the 8th largest market for US agricultural exports and the top market in Southeast Asia,” Marcos added.
 

GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference program that promotes economic development by eliminating duties on thousands of products when imported from one of 119 designated beneficiary countries and territories.
 

It was instituted in January 1976 under the Trade Act of 1974 for 10 years, and has been scheduled for renewal periodically since then by the US Congress.
 

The program provides opportunities for many of the world’s poorest countries to use trade to grow their economies and climb out of poverty. 
 

According to Marcos, the Philippines imported around $3.5 billion worth of agricultural goods from the United States in 2021.
 

He added that it is not surprising that US agriculture and food exporters are aiming to expand their market access in the Philippines by advocating for lower tariffs.
 

In the same speech, Marcos cited the need for a a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the United States.
 

“The benefits for concluding an FTA together with a Critical Minerals Agreement between both our countries will be transformative and will create new jobs, strengthen supply chains, establish new businesses, and upskill our workforce,” the President pointed out.
 

In 2023, semiconductors and integrated circuits were the Philippines’ biggest exports to the US amounting to $3.1 billion, or 23.3 percent of its total exports to the North American country.
 

During the US’ first Presidential Trade and Investment Mission (PTIM) to the Philippines in March, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced that Manila can expect at least $1 billion worth of planned investments by American companies.
 

The US was also the Philippines’ 4th largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) last year.