WHILE OFFICIALS OF the Marcos administration are playing safe over the Trump administration’s lopsided tariff deal with the Philippines, former Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Lampe Cuisia Jr. did not mince words and outrightly branded it as “disappointing and unfair” to Filipino exporters.
Cuisia, who served as 7th Governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (1990 to 1993) and Philippine Ambassador to the United States (2011 to 2016), said that the deal—negotiated during the meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US President Donald Trump in Washington DC—resulted in higher tariffs for Philippine goods, while other countries like Vietnam secured better terms.
“Vietnam, a former enemy, saw its tariffs drop from 46 percent to 20 percent. Ours went up to 19 percent. How can we say we got a good deal?” Cuisia told Business Mirror at the sidelines of the Asian Forum on Enterprise for Society yesterday Tuesday. The 20 percent tariff on Philippine goods took effect last August 1, 2025.
PH EXPORTERS HURTING
Cuisia warned that the increased tariffs are already hurting Philippine exporters. Local businesses are losing contracts to competitors from countries with lower tariffs, and some may be forced to shut down.
“Exporters are very concerned. They’re losing contracts and may eventually close,” he said.
From how the former envoy to the US sees it, Philippine negotiators missed a key opportunity to use the country’s strategic value in talks. The Philippines currently hosts nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) sites used by the US military.
“We should have used the Edca sites as leverage. That’s a missed opportunity,” Cuisia said.
An earlier study of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies showed that the Philippines gained the least in ASEAN in US tariffs.
Cuisia surmised that the cancellation of a $5.5-billion deal to purchase F-16 fighter jets may have affected the outcome of the trade negotiations.
“While I was ambassador, we were offered a squadron of F-16s. The Armed Forces declined it due to high maintenance costs. Later, they planned to buy new jets—then canceled. That may have had an impact,” he said.
MILITARY AID VS. IMPACT
Although the US provided $500 million in military assistance to the Philippines, Cuisia emphasized that economic support is lacking.
“We appreciate the defense aid, but the tariffs are damaging our economy,” he said.
Cuisia also questioned the strength of the US’s “ironclad” commitment to defend the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty.
“That remains to be seen. US foreign policy is unpredictable,” he said.
Ambassador Cuisi finished his Masters in Business Administration-Finance at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 1970 as a University Scholar.