Philippine exporters are weighing plans to accelerate shipments to the United States (US) to take advantage of the temporary reprieve in trade costs, after Washington set a baseline global tariff at 10 percent rather than a previously threatened 15 percent.

Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines President Robert Young said local firms are coordinating with US counterparts to gauge appetite for frontloading orders before higher levies potentially take effect.

“If [they] are, then we will frontload all this. That's what we will do, we will advance again, we will do some effort to advance the deliveries,” Young told Manila Bulletin.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a notice to importers that the global tariffs announced earlier by US President Donald Trump will be set at 10 percent, excluding imports granted exemptions.

The 10-percent rate was the global levy Trump first announced hours after the US Supreme Court declared his sweeping enforcement of reciprocal tariffs unconstitutional. He subsequently raised the rate to 15 percent.

According to a Reuters report, the Trump administration is still working to update the rate to 15 percent, although no timeline has been set.

During his State of the Union address, Trump said his tariff policy “will remain in place under fully approved and tested alternative legal statutes.”

While the final status of the global tariffs remains unclear, Young said FOBAP hopes the levy will settle at 10 percent, especially given that Philippine goods were subjected to a much higher 19 percent reciprocal tariff last year.

Young, who also serves as trustee for the textile, yarn, and fabric sector of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport), said the garment industry resorted to frontloading last year to avoid the imposition of reciprocal tariffs in August.

These advanced deliveries boosted garment exports to an estimated $1 billion in 2025, up from around $900 million the previous year.

“FOBAP survived with 19 percent, and with this 10 percent, it will be really a breather indeed,” said Young.

However, if the 10-percent tariff rate remains unchanged, he warned that garment exports could lose competitiveness, as the Philippines is already 10 to 15 percent more costly on free on board (FOB) terms than other countries.

“We are very, very insecure about the USA trade policy. So perhaps this will also be good for us to look for other avenues to stay in the business,” he said.

While he noted that replacing the huge demand of the US would be nearly impossible, Young said exporters are now pursuing other markets in Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, and Africa as a much-needed “safety net.”

For his part, Philexport president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the 10-percent rate would be more bearable, as the lower tariff is unlikely to lead to major adjustments in the global supply chain that would affect local exporters.

“The 10 percent is more manageable because we won't be left behind,” he told Manila Bulletin. “I'm not afraid of 10 percent, as long as you don't remove the exemptions.”

Philippine semiconductors and agricultural products were granted exemptions from the 19-percent tariff rate last year. These products accounted for more than half of the country’s exports to the US, which stood at $13.44 billion last year.

According to the CBP notice, semiconductors and certain agricultural commodities, such as coconuts and tropical fruits, were among the products exempted from the 10-percent duty.

Ortiz-Luis said exporters are still awaiting an official order from Trump to ease their concerns, noting that exemptions on these key products could lead to another year of export growth in 2026.

On the government's part, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said discussions are ongoing with the US on whether the tariff exemptions granted to Philippine goods will remain in effect.

Roque also said the Philippines is willing to lead a unified Southeast Asian push to pursue a preferential trade agreement during the upcoming ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Retreat next month.