President Donald Trumpannounced a trade deal July 22 with the Philippines, hours after the leader of the country paid a visit to the Oval Office ahead of an Aug. 1 reciprocal tariffs deadline. The Southeast Asian country would pay a 19% tariff, Trump said. "President Ferdinand Marcos, of the Philippines, is just leaving the White House, with all of his many Representatives. It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19% Tariff," he wrote on Truth Social. Trump has so far announced three deals: with the U.K., Vietnam and Indonesia. On July 9, he sent tariff letters to eight countries including Philippines, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Iraq, Libya and Brazil.Another batch of lettersto 14 countries, including South Africa, Malaysia and Laos, were sent two days earlier. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the first head of state from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to visit the White House during Trump's second term. Trump sent a letter to Marcos announcing a 20% tariff on goods imported from the Philippines − a hike from the 17% announced earlier in April. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in 2024, the U.S. goods trade deficit with the Philippines was $4.9 billion − a 21.8% increase from 2023. Top U.S. exports to the Philippines include agricultural goods, machinery, cereals and materials for semiconductor and transport equipment manufacturing The reciprocal "Liberation Day"tariffs were first announced on April 2 and temporarily reduced to 10% a week later. Trump granted a90-day pausefor most countries, during which his administration said it would negotiate deals with trading partners. This deadline was set toexpire on July 9,but Trump pushed the start date to Aug. 1. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump announces Philippines trade deal and 19% tariff
