THE United States defended President Donald Trump’s administration on its imposition of tariffs, describing them as an essential tool designed to “rebalance trade.”
This comes after the US imposed a 12.5-percent tariff on about 60 countries — including the Philippines — following concerns over forced labor practices.
In a virtual press briefing on Friday, Casey Mace, United States senior official to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, explained how tariffs — alongside targeted market-opening initiatives — work in tandem to restore fairness to the US’ international trade relations.
“President Trump has been very focused on rebalancing trade, making trade more fair for the United States, and has pursued and used a number of tools, including tariffs, to bring greater balance to the US trade, which has grown — it’s grown really imbalanced in ways that have harmed the US economy for many years,” Mace said.
Malacañang has since submitted to Washington a joint administrative order that will set up a coordinated mechanism to investigate and ban the import of goods produced by forced labor.
“We also informed them that a Joint Administrative Order establishes a mechanism to prevent the importation of products made through forced labor,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro previously said.
The order, which was spearheaded by the Department of Finance, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department of Labor and Employment, reaffirms the nation’s commitment to ethical sourcing and responsible business practices while offering a clear framework for looking into and stopping the entry of goods connected to human exploitation.
Mace emphasized that trade tariffs are part of a broader strategy pursued alongside multilateral engagements such as the APEC forum.
By utilizing APEC to reduce trade barriers and open overseas markets to American exports, the US aims to achieve a reciprocal and sustainable trading dynamic.
“We believe that the tariffs that the United States is using are also yielding important results for the United States economy,” Mace said.
He also revealed that the US will continue to explore the growing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) in the region.
“I would say that AI and digital — our digital exports have been a real focus area, and a real growth area that US industry has been increasing exports and investments in those sectors in the region,” he said.
“There’s really strong interest in the region to embrace American technology, American digital solutions and AI solutions. And so that will continue to be a real growth area, and I think it’s really going to be transformative for the region in terms of improving the economic output, performance and quality of life in the region.”
He also stressed the importance of the US-led Pax Silica initiative in the region.
“We’ve been very focused on investing in areas to make the AI supply chain serve our economies and our private sectors in ways that are more resilient and reliable,” he said, noting that partner nations in the initiative — like the Philippines — will help fortify the AI supply chain in the region.
