The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a trade mission to the Philippines in April next year as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing drive to expand agricultural exports to the country.

In a Dec. 23 statement, the USDA said it will hold six agribusiness trade missions in the coming year to expand and diversify global market opportunities for American agricultural commodities.

USDA Undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs Luke Lindberg said boosting exports is critical to the success of the agricultural industry and the American economy as a whole.

As practice, Lindberg said the USDA’s marketing and trade experts pinpoint new and growing global markets each year that offer “top-notch prospects” for American exporters.

“This year, we are focusing those efforts on markets where President [Donald] Trump has put America’s farmers and ranchers on an even playing field across the globe,” he said.

The USDA will conduct its first trade mission in February in Jakarta, Indonesia, followed by Manila in April, and Istanbul, Turkey, the following month.

In August, the American agency will visit Australia and New Zealand, followed by Saudi Arabia in September and Vietnam in November.

For the upcoming Manila visit, the USDA noted that “2026 also marks the 80th anniversary of US-Philippines diplomatic relations.”

It also recalled that “the Trump administration announced that the Philippines is opening its market to the US and charging zero tariffs, while the Philippines will pay 19-percent tariffs to the US.”

In July, Trump issued this announcement in a social media post following his meeting with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at the White House.

Marcos traveled to Washington, DC, to negotiate lower tariffs after Trump moved to raise the reciprocal tariffs on Philippine goods from 17 percent to 20 percent.

The President managed to cut the tariff rate by a mere one percentage point (ppt) to 19 percent, which has been in place since August.

In exchange for downgrading the tariff, Trump claimed that Marcos offered to reduce tariffs on American goods from 34 percent to zero.

But in a subsequent press conference, Marcos clarified that the zero tariffs will only be implemented on a number of American exports, including automobiles, soy, wheat, and pharmaceutical products.

The government has not yet disclosed any new developments on this matter, as the country has not yet reached a reciprocal trade agreement with the US.

Under its brief for the Jakarta trade mission, the USDA noted that this visit will specifically explore trade opportunities created by the reciprocal trade deal between the US and Indonesia.

Lindberg, who will lead the mission, said the agreement “creates an unprecedented opportunity” for American agribusinesses to further expand sales.

While questions remain about the trade deal between the Philippines and the US, the USDA earlier noted that American exports are poised for continued growth in the country, driven by its growing population, rising food demand, and potential economic expansion.

In a Dec. 17 report, the foreign agency said products that have the “greatest potential for expansion” include dairy, poultry, non-beverage ethanol, pork, beef, processed potatoes, confectionery and snack foods, and seafood.