The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is optimistic about pursuing a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States under the renewed Trump administration, according to Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo.
Speaking at an event in Makati City last week, Rodolfo noted that President Donald Trump’s track record suggests a stronger possibility of advancing talks on a PH-US FTA during his second term.
“President Trump, during his first administration, was the only recent US president to express openness to a bilateral FTA with the Philippines,” Rodolfo said.
He recalled that Trump welcomed the idea of a PH-US free trade deal during his visit to the Philippines in 2017 for the 31st ASEAN Summit. Further support came in 2018 when then-US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer testified before the US Congress, calling a potential PH-US FTA “a good first bilateral trade pact” following the renegotiation of NAFTA.
Rodolfo also highlighted that Jamieson Greer, Lighthizer’s former chief of staff and Trump’s nominee for USTR in his second term, is likely to maintain a favorable stance toward a PH-US FTA.
Rodolfo contrasted Trump’s approach with that of President Joe Biden, whose administration, he said, was hesitant to pursue bilateral trade agreements due to a lack of congressional control and a trade promotion authority mandate. With Republicans now controlling both houses of Congress, the dynamics for a PH-US FTA have shifted significantly under Trump, he explained.
He further noted that in 2020, then-Senator Marco Rubio filed the Philippines-US Strategic Economic and Security Partnership Act to strengthen bilateral ties, particularly in the critical minerals sector, signaling the US’s growing interest in closer economic relations with the Philippines.
“Given the current developments in the US, we foresee a net positive impact on Philippines-US relations, and we are determined to push for a bilateral FTA with the US,” Rodolfo said.