MANILA, Philippines — The United States will impose an additional 12.5% tariff on Philippine exports after President Donald Trump approved new trade penalties targeting countries that Washington says have failed to implement adequate safeguards against goods made with forced labor.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the decision Friday (Manila time) following a months-long review of 60 economies. The USTR concluded that the Philippines “has failed to impose and effectively enforce a forced-labor import prohibition.”
“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
The new tariff could significantly affect the Philippines, whose largest export market is the United States. Philippine exports to the U.S. totaled $13.44 billion in 2025, accounting for 15.9% of the country’s total exports, despite declining from $14.5 billion in 2024.
Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the new tariffs underscore the need for the Philippines to diversify its export markets.
“Trump is trying to weaponize tariffs against countries,” Ortiz-Luis told the Inquirer in a phone interview. “He is trying to look for other ways to impose tariffs. He does not even consider that the Philippines is an ally of the United States.”
The Philippine government has not yet issued an official response to the new U.S. tariff.
