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FAMILY PHOTO. US President Donald Trump looks at Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., next to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, when posing for a family photo with leaders at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 26, 2025.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Trade negotiations between the Philippines and United States continue three months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. trekked to Washington, DC, to meet US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Malaysia on Monday, October 27, Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said there are “comprehensive issues” that must be tackled first, as the two nations iron out the fine details of the agreement.

Castro was citing Frederick Go, Marcos’ special assistant for investment and economic affairs. The issues, Go told Castro, include trade rules and regulations, non-tariff measures such as services and investments, and products that the Philippines wants to “protect” such as coconuts, pineapple, sugar, cocoa, and electronics.

“At ‘yan po, ilan po ito sa mga hindi po sa ngayon makakayang i-negotiate ng basta-basta ng Pilipinas. So nando’n pa rin po ang pakikipag-usap para po ‘yung ibang mga produkto natin ay hindi na nga po maapektuhan,” said Castro.

(So those are among the reasons why, for now, it’s hard for the Philippines to negotiate [with the US]. We are still in discussions to ensure that our products are not affected [adversely].)

On the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit, the United States signed trade agreements with the bloc’s chair Malaysia, as well as Cambodia. The US also signed framework trade deals with Vietnam and Thailand.

In late July 2025, following a meeting with Marcos in the Oval Office, Trump announced a 19% rate for the Philippines, and claimed zero tariffs for US products entering the Philippines.

Prior to that meeting, Trump announced the US would be imposing a 20% tariff on Philippine products, a rate that was three percentage points higher than the 17% that was initially planned to be imposed on Manila. The 19% rate was meant to kick in on August 1.