US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a trade deal with the Philippines after a White House meeting with the country’s leader, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Under the agreement, American goods shipped to the Philippines won’t face any duties, while Philippine exports to the US will see a 19% tariff. That figure is in line with rates other Southeast Asian nations are set to face.
Such deals mark short-term wins for US negotiators, but risk undermining the region’s competitiveness and sovereignty, turning its relationship with Washington into “a rent-seeking system rather than a strategic partnership,” a Stimson Center expert argued. That dynamic could accelerate what many in the West fear: a Southeast Asian pivot toward China.
