US force-labor tariff unfair

While US State Department chief Marco Rubio is in Manila for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and while US President Donald Trump himself assured that the iron-clad security promises are still iron-clad, here comes the news that Philippine exports to the United States are now subject to a higher 12.5-percent tariff.

For the uninitiated and for ordinary Filipinos in rural farms and urban streets, this business of ever-tweaking US tariffs imposed by the  dotard Trump is hard to follow.

First, President Bongbong negotiated a teeny-weeny reduction in reciprocal tariffs—from 20 percent down to 19 percent—on July 22, 2025.  BBM even made this expensive trip to Washington just to get this concession, opening local markets to American vehicles and agricultural commodities.

Philippine imports to the US have been subject to a 10-percent tariff since February, after the US Supreme Court declared the Trump administration’s previous enforcement of reciprocal tariffs unconstitutional.

The 10-percent tariff expired on July 24, 2026 after being implemented for 150 days, making way for the new duties linked to “forced labor,” whatever that means.  The trouble with the US is that it defines terms only from its perspective, thinking that it rules the world.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said it is imposing a 12.5-percent tariff on the Philippines.  Earlier, the same office  included the Philippines in its Argus-eyed investigation into  60 countries on the matter of force-labor goods.

It said the Philippines “has failed to impose and effectively enforce a forced labor import prohibition” along with 40 other economies. While Jamieson Greer said this financial punishment on 41 countries will correct “both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere,” at the end of the day this will just add revenues to the depleted US treasury department and bolster their capability to wage wars.

The action is indeed a convenient pretext to rebuild the tariff barrier following the US Supreme Court’s ruling dismantling it.  Australia called it unjustified and an extremely disappointing decision.  Kaja Kallas of the EU said it’s not really grounded, since European labor laws are better than America’s.

The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are among the hardest hit in this new tariff imposition.

Just like before, the Marcos government will use persuasion and requests of exemptions as it kowtows  to America.  This, despite the nine EDCA sites and the Pax Silica selloffs, from which the nation got nothing.