Philippines on Trump’s ‘good book’.

President Donald Trump has announced on Tuesday, that he and President Ferdinand Marcos Junior of the Philippines have reached a trade agreement. Shortly after, he also revealed more detailed terms of an agreement with Indonesia. Both agreements call for 19% tariffs on goods the US imports from the two countries, paid by American businesses, while American goods shipped there won’t be charged a tariff.

Trump’s announcement of the agreement with the Philippines came after he met with President Ferdinand Marcos Junior at the White House on Tuesday. “It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal”, Trump wrote on his social media platform. However, it was not immediately apparent if the two leaders formally signed anything. Similar to other recent trade announcements, few details were initially revealed. The agreement with the Philippines marks the fifth struck over the past three months. No new details have come to light on the agreement Trump announced with Vietnam earlier this month. Administration officials have not revealed why that’s the case.

Trump and administration officials promised dozens more trade deals in April after they paused “reciprocal” tariffs. More recently, they’ve changed their tone, stressing that Trump is focusing on the quality of deals rather than quantity. Trump has put much of the global economy on notice, with a threat of imposing higher tariffs, including rates going as high as 50% on trading partners and a 50% copper import tax across the board — set to take effect next week. He’s said he’ll stand firm on the August 1 deadline for countries to make deals or risk facing higher tariffs, yet investors have largely shrugged off that possibility.

Team Maverick