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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos flies to US to push for 'greater' economic ties with Trump

Marcos flies to US to push for 'greater' economic ties with Trump

Published Jul 20, 2025 11:37 am  |  Updated Jul 20, 2025 01:23 pm
President Marcos has departed Manila for Washington in an attempt to engage United States President Donald Trump in trade talks as global tariffs loom.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. departs Manila for his Washington official visit on July 20, 2025. (RTVM)
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. departs Manila for his Washington official visit on July 20, 2025. (RTVM)
Marcos left the Philippines on Sunday morning, July 20, for an official visit to Washington, D.C. upon the invitation of Trump.
His visit, Marcos said, "is essential" as he aims to reaffirm that his administration is ready to negotiate a strong and mutually-beneficial trade deal with the US.
"My top priority for this visit is to push for greater economic engagement, particularly through trade and investment between the Philippines and the United States," Marcos said in his departure speech.
"I intend to convey to President Trump and his Cabinet officials that the Philippines is ready to negotiate a bilateral trade deal that will ensure strong, mutually beneficial and future-oriented collaborations that only the United States and the Philippines will be able to take advantage of," he added.
The President said his visit builds on the active exchanges they have had since the assumption of the new Trump administration, including the various bilateral meetings between the secretary of Foreign Affairs, the US Secretary of State, the visit to Manila of the US Secretary of Defense in March, and the director of National Intelligence last month, as well as the visits of bipartisan US Congressional Delegations.
"My visit to Washington, D.C., and most importantly, my meeting with President Trump, is essential to continuing to advance our national interests and strengthening our alliance," he said.
"During this visit, we will reaffirm our commitment to fostering our long-standing alliances as an instrument of peace and a catalyst of development in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world," he added.
The Chief Executive also said that he will meet with business leaders to explore business opportunities that will further help the country's economic growth.
His visit will also focus on security and defense.
"I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also on trade," he said.
"And we will see how much progress we can make when it comes to the negotiations with the United States concerning the changes that we would like to institute so as to be able to alleviate the effects of a very severe tariff schedule on the Philippines," he added.
The US has imposed a 20 percent tariff on Philippine exports, higher than the 17 percent initially announced by the Trump administration in April.
Gov't caretakers
Marcos has once again formed a three-man Executive Committee to manage the day-to-day operations of the executive branch and ensure uninterrupted governance while he is away.
The panel of caretakers consist Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamib, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, and Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III.
"The orders of the President is to continue the work while he's away. Anyway, we keep in constant communication with him during all the time that he is away from the country," Bersamin said in an interview on Sunday.
Asked if Marcos left a specific directive to the caretakers, Bersamin said: "He does not need to be specific because each of us, including the other Cabinet secretaries, we are all aware of what the President has set for us to do."
"So we will just leave it at that. Everybody continues to function 100 percent. That's the desire of the President all the time," the executive secretary further said. 

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President Marcos US trip Donald Trump tariffs
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