EVEN as Manila is still in queue to wrap up talks with Washington, the government has neither earmarked funds nor rolled out initiatives to assist exporters who will be affected by the higher tariffs slapped on goods bound for the United States, its long-time top export destination.
At a Senate hearing on Monday, Trade Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty said: ‘Of course, on our part, we want to fast-track the negotiations [with the US] but when we had our last round of negotiations about three weeks ago, they told us [that] they’re also facing a lot of negotiations with other countries.’
He added, ‘Right now, based on our discussion with our counterpart, it will be very difficult to conclude the same within the year, given the number of negotiations being handled by USTR.’
He said the DTI projects conclusion of the negotiation will end ‘by next year.’
Meanwhile, Trade officials including Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina A. Roque were pressed by Senator Imee Marcos on what are the agency’s planned ‘immediate solutions’ for affected exporters.
For his part, Gepty explained that the country’s strategy to navigate through the tariff headwinds is to ‘Of course, to continue the negotiation with the US.’
Another strategy, he noted, is to request the exemption of key Philippine products, adding, ‘That’s why we’re negotiating on that.’
The chief trade negotiator also said the Philippines is currently expanding its market access to other countries.
This was echoed by Roque: ‘We’re going to, we are actually looking for other markets already, for, actually, all the products of the Philippines, especially those that will be affected.’
However, Marcos pointed out that the Philippines is among the countries with ‘very, very few [Free Trade Agreements] FTAs.’
‘That market access takes time to develop, it’s not gonna happen overnight. In the meantime, exporters are reeling. You can see that many are already losing their jobs. What’s to be done about that?’ the lawmaker said, partly in Filipino. She noted that there are no subsidies in place to assist affected exporters.
To which, Roque quickly replied: ‘We are strengthening also the local market this is also what’s attractive to foreign investments thaht are coming in, aside from strengthening the foreign trade service corps in the DTI offices all over the world.’
Senator Marcos emphasized that market development is a ‘medium to long-term process,’ further pressing the trade officials: ‘What is the immediate solution because the problem is really urgent as thousands are losing their jobs?’
Roque, however, pointed out that Philippine exporters already know what to do despite the headwinds.
‘Sanay na po sila mag-export so we just have to find other markets like Europe,’ Roque said.
She also noted that for long-time exporters, ‘It’s actually easy for you to penetrate other markets.’
The senator described the budget of the country’s Trade department as ‘business as usual.’
‘Konting konti lang ang pinagkaiba nung last year at ngayon. Ano ang gagawin natin? Ang problema ngayon nasaan yung plano kapag nangyari ito [There’s hardly any difference between last year and this year. The problem is, where’s the plan when the worst happens]?’ Marcos said.
No subsidies in budget
As for the subsidies that DTI will provide for exporters, particularly electronics exporters, Gepty said: ‘If you’re referring to funds that will be extended by the government, I’m not aware of that, if there’s any line item.’
In an interview with the BusinessMirror in August, Roque said: ‘No, we don’t have that budget for the industries. But what we have is we’ll be able to do major B2B, major trade missions for them to sell in other countries all over the world. Because we have to bear in mind that the US is not the only market. The world is the market.’
As to the measures that the government will roll out to protect industries that may be affected by the tariffs, Roque told this newspaper: ‘Nothing, because nothing is final yet. Everything is still under negotiation. Everything is like a new update. It’s also hard to rely on these things until we find something that’s really final.’
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data indicated that in August 2025, or during the month when the 19-percent reciprocal tariff imposed by Washington took effect for the Philippines, exports to the United States contracted 11.2 percent to $1.09 billion from the $1.22 billion recorded in August 2024.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ shipments bound for Hong Kong soared by 26.4 percent to $1.19 billion in August 2025 from the $942.56 million in August 2024.
For August 2025 alone, this means that Hong Kong is now the Philippines’ top export destination.