The Marcos administration will send a delegation to the United States next week to negotiate a potential lowering of the newly imposed 20 percent reciprocal tariff on Philippine exports, a move that the government described as concerning.

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go said this after US President Donald Trump raised the 17 percent tariff on Philippine exports to 20 percent, the second-lowest tariff rate in the region, next to Singapore’s 10 percent.

“We are concerned that the US has decided to impose a 20 percent tariff on Philippine exports,” Go said in a press briefing in Malacañan on Thursday, July 10.

“More importantly than all of this, we remain committed to continuing negotiations with the United States in good faith to pursue a bilateral comprehensive economic agreement or, if possible, an FTA (free trade agreement),” he said.

The unexpected increase in tariff rate was far from Malacañang’s earlier statement that the Philippines was in “a good position” regarding the negotiations. Asked what went wrong, Go said there might have been some “posturing” but declined to elaborate.

He, however, said the government is willing to pursue negotiations with Washington on the matter.

“I think there's some posturing here. I don't think I can comment further. But we will go there next week and we will try to bring this down if we can,” he said.

The delegation will include Go, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, and Undersecretaries Perry Rodolfo and Alan Gepty. He explained the trip had already been scheduled even before the US tariff decision was announced.

Go explained that a personal meeting would be “more effective” as he noted that earlier discussions were like email exchanges, which were insufficient to make progress.

“I think [a] face-to-face meeting is far more effective,” he said.

“Our objective talaga (really) is a bilateral economic partnership agreement,” he added, referring to a more comprehensive trade deal the Philippines hopes to secure with the US.

Meanwhile, Go said most of the country’s top exports, particularly semiconductors and electronics, remain “exempted” from the new tariff. He clarified that this exemption was due to various reasons, such as US national security and supply chain priorities.

“Our number one export to America is semiconductors and electronics… a very large part of that is exempted from the reciprocal tariffs,” he said.

The Philippines exported $12.14 billion worth of goods to the US in 2024, making up 17 percent of the country’s total merchandise exports.

Go said the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) is now computing the potential economic impact of the new tariff, particularly if the exemptions are lifted or narrowed in the future.

Go said the Philippines is pushing for a bilateral economic partnership agreement that could bring down product-specific tariffs to zero, especially for priority sectors like the coconut industry.

“If coconut exports are important to us, in a bilateral negotiation, we can negotiate for dropping the tariff to zero percent,” he said.

He added that such a deal would give the Philippines more leverage in asking for targeted trade concessions, unlike the blanket reciprocal tariff system.

As for speculation on whether President Marcos would personally intervene or speak with President Donald Trump, Go said that was outside his mandate. Marcos had repeatedly expressed his willingness to talk to Trump about the issue.