Malacañang said the Philippines is satisfied with the ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States amid the 17 percent reciprocal tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump to the country.
PCO Undersecretary Claire Castro (Betheena Unite/MANILA BULLETIN)
When asked if the Philippines is satisfied with the ongoing trade talks with the US, Palace Press Office and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said, "Yes, opo."
Castro said the negotiation continues but did not divulge further information, citing confidentiality.
"Meron pong deadline, pero again hindi ko po masasabi yung ibang detalye because of confidentiality agreement pero tuloy tuloy po yung pakikipag-ugnayan po nila sa US representatives (There is a deadline but again we cannot disclose the other details because of confidentiality agreement, but we continue to coordinate with the US representative)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, June 5.
"According to the Department of Trade and Industry and Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, they are in constant communication with the US Trade representative but they cannot divulge or give any details about this because we are covered by the confidentiality agreement," Castro also said.
The Trump administration has imposed a 17-percent reciprocal tariff to the Philippines as part of its move to imposing all trading partners globally with new taxes.
The significantly higher tariffs were supposed to be implemented on April 9 but have since been postponed for 90 days or until July 7.