Quote from: Japinat on July 28, 2025, 01:42:03 PM

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

Quote

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.