The Philippines supposedly got a 1% tariff discount, is that really a victory?

[Coyster]

Trump posted on his social media that the Philippines would implement zero tatiffs on the import of American goods, but that is not completely the truth, and he only posted it that way to toot his own horn as always.

That said, from what i read and understand, there are still certain imports on American goods that would be taxed, but automobiles and pharmaceutical products coming in from America would face zero tariffs. Philippines president, Bongbong Marcus Jr has also confirmed this. As for a 1% tariff discount, it is what it is, the Philippines have a good relationship with the United States, and i am sure Bongbong isn't confident of going into a trade war with them.

[gunhell16]

This has been circulating online, and many Filipinos don’t seem impressed with the news. Before the president's visit, the tariff was 20%, and now it's 19%. They're calling it a “significant win,” but for real - is it?

we impose lower tariffs (or even none at all) on U.S. products entering the country. so what exactly are we celebrating here?

Feels like we’re being taken for a ride, hyping up something that barely scratches the surface.
Almost like clapping for a clown just because he managed to entertain us so well.


https://www.philstar.com/business/2025/07/23/2460120/marcos-1-reduction-us-tariff-still-significant-achievement

MANILA, Philippines — After a historic visit to the White House yielded just a 1% reduction in US tariffs on Philippine goods, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. still called it a win.

The tariff rate, previously at 17%, was raised by US President Donald Trump to 20% before Marcos’ visit.

Marcos met with Trump and other US officials to discuss defense and trade matters, with the Philippine side hoping to secure lower tariff rates.

“I can already tell everyone, as it’s come out already, that we managed to bring down the 20% tariff rate for the Philippines to 19. Now, 1% might seem like a very small concession. However, when you put it into – in real terms, it is a significant achievement,” Marcos said in a media interview released on Wednesday, July 23.

Marcos attributed the “special relationship” between the US and the Philippines.

The news that the Philippines has a special relationship with the US is such fake news that this is just my opinion. Why did I say this? It would have been better if the Philippines had never had a special relationship with the US, but the US will only give a 1% discount to the president of the Philippines. This is a very shameful president if that is the case.

The country of Indonesia is even better, from the 30% tariff that the US gave them, the Leader of Indonesia just made a call to talk to Trump and they were able to lower it to 19% tariff, and even another country, Vietnam, just called Trump to lower the tariff % and they were able to lower it to 20% and there are other countries that were at 44% that were lowered by 20%, take note that these countries I mentioned do not have a special relationship with the US, but that was the Marcos party, they still have a special relationship but only 1% was reduced from 20% to 19% hahaha, then Trump even told him that he was a tough negotiator that it was obvious to all countries around the world that Trump was just trolling him and making fun of him.

He was the most embarrassing president of the Philippines in history when that happened. Then they will say that it was a big victory. How did that become a victory? All the products that the US will import are zero percent in the Philippines, and then the Philippines is 19% in the US.

[bhadz]

Products from the US will have no longer tax. But products that are from here imported to the US will have addition 19% tariff. While it's only 1% discount and we want more. The delegation together with our president shouldn't went there and just had a phone call just like the leader of Indonesia that he has called Trump and able to lessen the tariffs imposed to their country and I think from 32% it became 19% as well.

Maybe but you must think about it more widely. Philipines already had a good tariff deal in terms of percentage so he could not lower it too much. If they gave Philippines 10% then other Asian countries may demand the same low percentage.

Yeah, I've actually thought of that. It makes sense that the other nearby countries have the same tariff just as us. But what I'm pointing out is that if the same tariff will be applied to us, our government shouldn't went there with a lot of delegations and representatives. Even Trump mentioned that on his post in truth social and that means a lot of money has been spent on that just to lower it to 1% for that attendance.

He was the most embarrassing president of the Philippines in history when that happened. Then they will say that it was a big victory. How did that become a victory? All the products that the US will import are zero percent in the Philippines, and then the Philippines is 19% in the US.

That's how media works for them, they want to be grandstanding or should I say 'he'. Yesterday was his state of the nation but I didn't watched it and just read some reviews and highlights of it and he didn't even mentioned that as an accomplish.

[finaleshot2016]

Even though it sounds bad, knowing Trump won't even have a good and fair tariff even the President of the Philippines visiting him. There are different sides of this situation, it could be a good discount for a bigger picture but if we look to the other side, trump won't even put it down more since he did it to other SEA countries as well. I also read that the PH is aiming for a 15% same with Japan but it's not guaranteed tho, we still have a lot of time. The only downside of the deal is that the import of automobiles is 0% which could have a downside to the dealers and local car makers here in the PH and could result to more imbalance of imports and exports but who knows what will happen in the future.

[pooya87]

As for a 1% tariff discount, it is what it is, the Philippines have a good relationship with the United States, and i am sure Bongbong isn't confident of going into a trade war with them.

That's true. Not everyone is equipped to fight a war but the problem is that wars don't wait for us to make up our minds. They start by the enemy and after war is declared, we HAVE TO reciprocate and fight it or we lose everything.

That's the problem here, the US regime has already declared an economic war on everyone including Philippines (the Tariff War) and now everyone has to fight it.
One way to fight the war that the enemy started is to impose reciprocation tariffs on imports from USA. But I understand that not every country can do that but they still have other ways such as diversifying their trade partners. One way to do it is joining BRICS (something Philippines doesn't seem to be interested in) and to isolate US more so that you simply neutralize their tariff war (no exports to US, no tariffs)...

[retreat]

This is exactly what happened in my country, Indonesia. My government said that the tariff reduction from the initial 32% to 19% was a very encouraging result, as it represented a significant effort to reduce tariffs. Even business associations, state institutions, and many members of the public (supporters of the president, of course) said this was a victory for Indonesia. I'm speechless at what they did. They said this was a victory, yet the agreement gave the US a 0% export tariff to Indonesia, plus easy access to copper and various metals without additional taxes, and the purchase of billions of dollars of US aircraft and agricultural products. And even worse, the management of Indonesian citizens' personal data, which would open access to facial data, addresses, phone numbers, national ID numbers, health history, personal financial transactions, and even biometric data and genetic makeup.

You can see that this is a very disadvantageous agreement. And I suspect that many countries in ASEAN will feel the same way. It is indeed sad, but most national leaders do not have the power to put up resistance.

[Japinat]

I'm sure Bongbong doesn't want the same thing to happen to him which is probably why there is no reciprocation when it comes to the tariff war. I believe Bongbong Marcos actually eliminated tariffs on imports from US recently!

I believe what happened to the previous president was mainly political. It was the Philippine government that surrendered him to the Hague over alleged crimes against humanity, but if you ask the pulse of the people, especially the poor who were the real victims of the drug war, most of them actually approved of what Duterte did. It was a war against illegal drugs, so it’s not surprising that it turned bloody. Our own courts in the Philippines are functioning well (aside from cases dragging on too long sometimes), so I don’t see the need for an international criminal court to step in.

[el kaka22]

People of USA needs to understand, there are literally no ways that other nations lose from these tariffs. Importers pay for these products and bring them, you think those nations and companies of those nations pay for those tariffs? Of course not, the importers do. So if importer gets something from Philippines, they pay for it. In exchange, either they will charge more for the people and YOU will pay more, or they won't and it will eat up on their own profits. In both cases, either the importer, or you, pay your own government.

So far, in 2025, USA government charged 150 billion dollars more to Americans than last year, thanks to these new tariffs. Not a dime came out of the companies overseas, and it's impossible for people to miss that, so they are literally losing more money, or better yet, we should say that they are taxed more.

[aioc]

Products from the US will have no longer tax. But products that are from here imported to the US will have addition 19% tariff. While it's only 1% discount and we want more. The delegation together with our president shouldn't went there and just had a phone call just like the leader of Indonesia that he has called Trump and able to lessen the tariffs imposed to their country and I think from 32% it became 19% as well.

Trump is praising PBBM for being a tough negotiator, but how did he become tough when Trump managed to pull off a no-tariff for US goods? I consider that an insult. Imagine no tariff for US goods, and the Philippines only managed to lessen the tariff by 1%.

No one in their right mind will call this a fair deal. This is the US abusing its ally, so the Philippines should not expect help from the US in case China attacks the Philippines. Filipinos now have doubts about Trump, he showed his true colors for the Philippines.

[Cointxz]

Products from the US will have no longer tax. But products that are from here imported to the US will have addition 19% tariff. While it's only 1% discount and we want more. The delegation together with our president shouldn't went there and just had a phone call just like the leader of Indonesia that he has called Trump and able to lessen the tariffs imposed to their country and I think from 32% it became 19% as well.

Trump is praising PBBM for being a tough negotiator, but how did he become tough when Trump managed to pull off a no-tariff for US goods? I consider that an insult. Imagine no tariff for US goods, and the Philippines only managed to lessen the tariff by 1%.

No one in their right mind will call this a fair deal. This is the US abusing its ally, so the Philippines should not expect help from the US in case China attacks the Philippines. Filipinos now have doubts about Trump, he showed his true colors for the Philippines.

Exactly. Some people especially analyst consider a lot of factor to justify that this is a fair deal because they don’t know how dumb the current president of the Philippines.

Marcos is a weak president that doesn’t his own stand. He spend billions of budget on flood control that goes to waste along with his many promises that nothing materialized despite his administration add more tax again to the citizens.

It’s ironic about this dumb president about 1% discount in exchange to free of tariffs on US goods while the citizen itself is paying a lot of taxes on local goods due to fuckin EVAT.

[coin-investor]

This has been circulating online, and many Filipinos don’t seem impressed with the news. Before the president's visit, the tariff was 20%, and now it's 19%. They're calling it a “significant win,” but for real - is it?

He’s the only one calling it a victory; he is just fooling himself by saying that. The Philippine government is set to lose billions of pesos in lost tariffs due to the zero tariff the Philippines granted to the US.
This is the most unfair trade deal; a 0% to 19% range is unacceptable, and Trump has disrespected his longest ally with this deal.

“I can already tell everyone, as it’s come out already, that we managed to bring down the 20% tariff rate for the Philippines to 19. Now, 1% might seem like a very small concession. However, when you put it into – in real terms, it is a significant achievement,” Marcos said in a media interview released on Wednesday, July 23.
Marcos attributed the “special relationship” between the US and the Philippines.

He’s not a good negotiator, but a weak President; he’s nothing compared to his father. There are still three years in office, but things are getting worse in his administration. The Philippines should learn from PBBM's action that they should not elect a weak president again.

[bullbandit9]

Yeah, I've actually thought of that. It makes sense that the other nearby countries have the same tariff just as us. But what I'm pointing out is that if the same tariff will be applied to us, our government shouldn't went there with a lot of delegations and representatives. Even Trump mentioned that on his post in truth social and that means a lot of money has been spent on that just to lower it to 1% for that attendance..

True but I still think you are greatly overestimating the quantity of money that is needed for such a one time trip. Besides that money is already part of the budget. If not on that trip, they would have spent it on another probably equally useless trip. The money issue is much deeper than this single trip.

[robelneo]

This has been circulating online, and many Filipinos don’t seem impressed with the news. Before the president's visit, the tariff was 20%, and now it's 19%. They're calling it a “significant win,” but for real - is it?

The president of the Philippines is the only one impressed with the news; he doesn’t know what a fair deal means. Based on experts’ calculations, the Philippines will possibly lose 3 to 6 billion from taxes.
The only benefits are that products like bread will become cheaper due to zero tariffs on wheat from the US, but these benefits cannot outweigh the harmful impact.
The Philippines has become another victim of Trump's America First policy.

[Darker45]

This has been circulating online, and many Filipinos don’t seem impressed with the news. Before the president's visit, the tariff was 20%, and now it's 19%. They're calling it a “significant win,” but for real - is it?

The president of the Philippines is the only one impressed with the news; he doesn’t know what a fair deal means. Based on experts’ calculations, the Philippines will possibly lose 3 to 6 billion from taxes.
The only benefits are that products like bread will become cheaper due to zero tariffs on wheat from the US, but these benefits cannot outweigh the harmful impact.
The Philippines has become another victim of Trump's America First policy.

Before the country is a victim of Trump's unstable mind, it's first a victim of its own colonial mentality. So, perhaps we deserve this. We're wired to just nod and say 'yes' all the time, especially to our former tormentor. Whether the US has Trump or Biden or Harris or Snoop Dogg is probably not the point, because regardless of who heads that country we're always ready to lick its ass.

Specifically in the case of Bongbong, he's a pushover leader. Doesn't know how to assert. Doesn't know how to stand firm.

[avp2306]

As for a 1% tariff discount, it is what it is, the Philippines have a good relationship with the United States, and i am sure Bongbong isn't confident of going into a trade war with them.

That's true. Not everyone is equipped to fight a war but the problem is that wars don't wait for us to make up our minds. They start by the enemy and after war is declared, we HAVE TO reciprocate and fight it or we lose everything.

That's the problem here, the US regime has already declared an economic war on everyone including Philippines (the Tariff War) and now everyone has to fight it.
One way to fight the war that the enemy started is to impose reciprocation tariffs on imports from USA. But I understand that not every country can do that but they still have other ways such as diversifying their trade partners. One way to do it is joining BRICS (something Philippines doesn't seem to be interested in) and to isolate US more so that you simply neutralize their tariff war (no exports to US, no tariffs)...

Many are not satisfied with how the deal went thru since US only cut down the tariff to 1% while US get 0% tariff on some of their good that will enter in Philippines market.

What's more intriguing here is Bong Bong Marcos allow US to have ammunition factory and storage facility. Its like they are making the Philippines as stock pile of their bullets and maybe other fire power arms in future.

This is critical decision especially that US and China have a conflict then PH also china have certain issues in west Philippines sea. If it happens a war broke out then Philippines will be in huge trouble.

That's why many people pointing out that Bong Bong is weak leader because he let Trump manipulate him towards the deal they made.

[Japinat]

Specifically in the case of Bongbong, he's a pushover leader. Doesn't know how to assert. Doesn't know how to stand firm.

I can agree with you on that, I voted for him too, and honestly, I regret it. the way he talks now, it feels like he doesn’t have the willpower to actually push for change. He’s very different from the previous president, who even ended up in The Hague because he was serious about fighting illegal drugs and stopping the country from becoming a narco state.

Looking at what’s happening now, corruption feels deeply rooted in our system. From the top officials down to the lowest positions, it’s like everyone is just looking for ways to take advantage and steal our taxes. sure, there are still some good people in the government, but they’re heavily outnumbered. Eventually, even the good ones risk getting dragged into the same corrupt system.

[Felicity_Tide]

That's true. Not everyone is equipped to fight a war but the problem is that wars don't wait for us to make up our minds. They start by the enemy and after war is declared, we HAVE TO reciprocate and fight it or we lose everything.

~snip

I might just have to scrape the word 'fairness' from the words I know because it doesn't seem to exist. This is a bullying act that is being done openly, but looks fair in the eyes of those who feel a 19% tariff is better than what their country was slammed with. Other countries especially the third world countries have stooped so low, probably due to fear or something.

I still can't believe that there would be justification from the United States if the Philippines or any other country decides to give a reciprocal of what they've received. I'm in disbelief honestly, because it takes a lot of guts to justify unfairness and bias. Maybe the whole BRICS thing was never a terrible idea in the first place, because the US keeps giving us valid reasons why it was set up.

Looking at what’s happening now, corruption feels deeply rooted in our system. From the top officials down to the lowest positions, it’s like everyone is just looking for ways to take advantage and steal our taxes. sure, there are still some good people in the government, but they’re heavily outnumbered. Eventually, even the good ones risk getting dragged into the same corrupt system.

You've just summarized the problem of almost every struggling countries in a few lines including my own country. At this point, I don't have hope for restoration again, because i strongly believe that we are affected by both internal and external factors, targeting those in government specifically. We where actually slammed with a 15% tarrif, but I wasn't even bothered because even a 1% tarrif wouldn't have made a significant impact due to the level of corruption.

[Japinat]

You've just summarized the problem of almost every struggling countries in a few lines including my own country. At this point, I don't have hope for restoration again, because i strongly believe that we are affected by both internal and external factors, targeting those in government specifically. We where actually slammed with a 15% tarrif, but I wasn't even bothered because even a 1% tarrif wouldn't have made a significant impact due to the level of corruption.

That can’t be denied, but as a citizen living in a corrupt country, I still hope it’s possible to turn things around. it’s hard, yes, but if we had the right leader with the courage and will to really change the system for the better, I believe it could happen.

A good example is Singapore, this country is used to be a corrupt too, but now it’s one of the most progressive nations in the world. we hope to reach that level someday. maybe if we had stronger anti-corruption measures, even something as harsh as the death penalty for big-time corruption, things would change. But since we’re a Catholic country, the church doesn’t support that kind of punishment.

[justdimin]

You've just summarized the problem of almost every struggling countries in a few lines including my own country. At this point, I don't have hope for restoration again, because i strongly believe that we are affected by both internal and external factors, targeting those in government specifically. We where actually slammed with a 15% tarrif, but I wasn't even bothered because even a 1% tarrif wouldn't have made a significant impact due to the level of corruption.

There isn't really importance of Philippines at the moment, we should realize that it's USA versus the World at the moment. That is the difficult part, we are seeing how things are looking at the moment. There aren't really any solutions to what Trump does, he just does what he does and everyone at American politics enable whatever he does.

He literally took away medical help from 16 million people and gave 3 trillion tax cuts to billionaires. Imagine what kind of president he is, and in return he just takes money from Americans who are now paying tariffs to government for buying stuff from other nations to cover for the tax cuts that he gave to rich people he calls friends. There aren't really confusing to see he is just screwing up.

[coin-investor]

A good example is Singapore, this country is used to be a corrupt too, but now it’s one of the most progressive nations in the world. we hope to reach that level someday. maybe if we had stronger anti-corruption measures, even something as harsh as the death penalty for big-time corruption, things would change. But since we’re a Catholic country, the church doesn’t support that kind of punishment.

Politics is the Philippines’ most significant issue. When you criticise, you are anti-government, and if you praise, you are pro-government. People will not think you are Filipino; you are categorised as pro-Duterte or pro-Marcos.

This is the only country where, after the election, people are thinking of the next election. Can you imagine we just held a midterm election two months ago? Still, the people, lawmakers, experts, and potential candidates are looking forward to the next election, which is the Presidential election.

Politician are not serving the people they are serving their interest they hop from one party to another depending on who is popular, people are not talking progress and solution they are talking about politics and the next election.