NEW YORK/WASHINGTON -- The U.S. will impose a 20% tariff on goods imported from the Philippines starting Aug. 1, President Donald Trump said in a letter revealed Wednesday, in his latest salvo against trade deficits with Southeast Asian nations.
"Goods transhipped to evade a higher Tariff will be subject to that higher Tariff," Trump wrote in the letter to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., posted on his Truth Social account.
"Please understand that the 20% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity we have with your Country," the letter adds.
The 20% rate is higher than the initial 17% tariffs the Trump administration announced in April. A 90-day pause followed, during which countries have negotiated with the White House to avoid steep tariffs.
Gregory Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said it was unclear why the Philippines' tariff rate was raised to 20% from 17%. The best guess, Poling said, was "that the administration has decided 20% is a reasonable baseline based on the framework deal with Vietnam."
Last week, Trump announced that the U.S. and Vietnam had reached a trade agreement under which the U.S. would impose a 20% tariff on Vietnamese goods entering the U.S. and a 40% tariff on transshipments. The Vietnamese side will have zero tariffs on American goods, the president wrote on Truth Social.
In the Philippines, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go said Manila was "concerned" by the 20% tariff, although he noted that it is the second lowest rate imposed by the Trump administration on ASEAN nations.
A government statement said the Philippines "remains committed to continuing negotiations in good faith to pursue a better and more comprehensive bilateral trade agreement." But it stressed that "global supply chains are deeply interconnected, and unilateral trade impositions will have adverse effects on the global economy."
Go said that he and Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque will fly to the US next week, but said the trip was scheduled before the announcement of the new tariff rate..
Henrietta Levin, former White House National Security Council director for Southeast Asia, said the Philippines had been negotiating in good faith on U.S. trade concerns.
"By moving the goalposts now, the administration has called that process into question and weakened its credibility as a negotiating partner," she said.
This is especially worrisome considering that the Philippines is a critical treaty ally, and actions that undermine Manila's trust in the U.S. may have broader strategic implications, said Levin, now a senior fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
"To effectively compete against China in Southeast Asia, the United States must demonstrate that it is a reliable and predictable partner that can be trusted over the long-term," she said. "Unfortunately, these measures signal the opposite."
The U.S. logged a $4.9 billion goods trade deficit with the Philippines in 2024, up 21.8% from the previous year, with imports from the Southeast Asian nation far outweighing exports, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The U.S. was the top export destination for the Philippines in value terms in May, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Major Philippine exports to the U.S. include semiconductors and other electronics.
Wednesday marked the release of the latest round of White House letters announcing tariffs on U.S. trading partners. Among Asian economies, Brunei will see its exports to the U.S. face a 25% tariff from Aug. 1, Trump said in a letter to the oil-rich nation's leader, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been told his country's exports to the U.S. will be hit with a 30% tariff. This is down from the 44% level announced in April.
Trump said Monday that he had sent letters on tariff rates to Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos and Myanmar.
Indonesia's chief economics minister and leading trade negotiator, Airlangga Hartarto, said after meeting U.S. officials in Washington on Wednesday that the two governments would intensify tariff negotiations ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline imposed by Trump.
"We already have the same understanding with the U.S. regarding the progress of the negotiations," Hartarto said in a statement on Thursday. "Going forward, we will continue to work to complete these negotiations with the principle of mutual benefit."
Indonesian companies in the agriculture and energy sectors last week signed memorandums of understanding with U.S. counterparts to buy more goods and increase investment, while Washington has shown interest in strengthening partnerships in critical minerals, he added.
Among ASEAN members, only Vietnam, which has announced an agreement with Washington, has received a significant reduction from the rate that U.S. president announced in April.
Japan and South Korea were also called out by Trump this week, with both countries hit with 25% tariffs. India and Taiwan have yet to receive letters.
Trump also announced on Wednesday that the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on Brazil from the Aug. 1 deadline -- far higher than the 10% duty initially imposed on Brazil on April 2.
