Philippine president arrives in US for trade talks

ISTANBUL

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived Sunday in Washington, DC for a three-day official visit, aiming to push for a bilateral trade agreement and discuss defense collaboration with US President Donald Trump.

Marcos’ plane arrived at Joint Base Andrews at 2.48 pm (1848GMT), where he was greeted by Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez and US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, according to a statement from the Presidential Communications office.

Marcos’ visit is his fifth to the US and will focus on negotiating the 20% tariff imposed on Philippine exports to the US, which is set to take effect on Aug. 1.

“It is my first visit to Washington following the inauguration of President Trump earlier this year,” Marcos said before departing from the Philippines, according to another statement from the Presidential Communications office.

Marcos said the visit and his upcoming meeting with Trump “is essential to continuing to advance our national interests and strengthening our alliance.”

“During this visit, we will reaffirm our commitment to fostering our long-standing alliances as an instrument of peace and a catalyst of development in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world,” he said.

“My top priority for this visit is to push for greater economic engagement, particularly through trade and investment between the Philippines and the United States,” he added.

Marcos said he plans to communicate to Trump and his Cabinet that the Philippines is prepared to discuss a bilateral trade agreement aimed at fostering “strong, mutually beneficial and future-oriented” partnerships.

The Philippines is a traditional ally of the US, and the two countries enjoy strong economic and military ties. Their security partnership is based on the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.