Donald Trump, Philippines leader plan to talk tariffs, China at White House

US President Donald Trump plans to host Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday, 22 July, at the White House, as the two countries are seeking closer security and economic ties in the face of shifting geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region.

Marcos, who met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, is set to become the first Southeast Asian leader to hold talks with Trump in his second term.

Marcos' three-day visit shows the importance of the alliance between the treaty partners at a time when China is increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have clashed over the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal.

Washington sees Beijing, the world's No 2 economy, as its biggest competitor, and consecutive presidential administrations have sought to shift US military and economic focus to the Asia-Pacific in a bid to counter China. Trump, like others before him, has been distracted by efforts to broker peace in a range of conflicts, from Ukraine to Gaza.

Tariffs also are expected to be on the agenda. Trump has threatened to impose 20 per cent tariffs on Filipino goods on 1 August unless the two sides can strike a deal.

"I intend to convey to President Trump and his Cabinet officials that the Philippines is ready to negotiate a bilateral trade deal that will ensure strong, mutually beneficial and future-oriented collaborations that only the United States and the Philippines will be able to take advantage of,” Marcos said Sunday when he was departing for Washington, according to his office.

Manila is open to offering zero tariffs on some US goods to strike a deal with Trump, finance chief Ralph Recto told local journalists.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt hinted that a trade agreement with the Philippines was in the works. “Perhaps this will be a topic of discussion,” she told reporters Monday when asked about tariff negotiations.

The White House said Trump will discuss with Marcos the shared commitment to upholding a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific.

Before a meeting with Marcos at the Pentagon, Hegseth reiterated America's commitment to “achieving peace through strength” in the region.

“Our storied alliance has never been stronger or more essential than it is today, and together we remain committed to the mutual defense treaty,” Hegseth said Monday. “And this pact extends to armed attacks on our armed forces, aircraft or public vessels, including our Coast Guard anywhere in the Pacific, including the South China Sea.”

Marcos, whose country is one of the oldest US treaty allies in the Pacific region, told Hegseth that the assurance to come to each other's mutual defense “continues to be the cornerstone of that relationship, especially when it comes to defence and security cooperation.”

He said the cooperation has deepened since Hegseth's March visit to Manila, including joint exercises and US support in modernising the Philippines' armed forces. Marcos thanked the US for support “that we need in the face of the threats that we, our country, is facing.”

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have been involved in long-unresolved territorial conflicts in the South China Sea, a busy shipping passage for global trade.

The Chinese coast guard has repeatedly used water cannon to hit Filipino boats in the South China Sea. China accused those vessels of entering the waters illegally or encroaching on its territory.

Hegseth told a security forum in Singapore in May that China poses a threat and the US is “reorienting toward deterring aggression by Communist China.”

During Marcos' meeting on Monday with Rubio, the two reaffirmed the alliance “to maintain peace and stability” in the region and discussed closer economic ties, including boosting supply chains, state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

The US has endeavoured to keep communication open with Beijing. Rubio and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi met this month on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They agreed to explore “areas of potential cooperation” and stressed the importance of managing differences.