US imposes additional 12.5% tariff on Philippine exports over forced labor concerns

AN ADDITIONAL 12.5-percent tariff has been imposed on Philippine exports after US President Donald Trump signed documents penalizing trading partners that failed to establish sufficient safeguards against goods produced through forced labor.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the decision on Friday (Manila time), following an investigation of 60 economies to determine whether they had effectively prohibited the importation of

goods made through forced labor, a report by Inquirer.net said.

"The Philippines has failed to impose and effectively enforce a forced-labor import prohibition," the USTR said in a Philippine Daily Inquirer report.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the United States has enforced a strict ban on imports produced through forced labor for nearly a century, adding that it is "past time" for its trading partners to adopt and enforce similar measures.

As the United States remains the Philippines' largest export market, the additional tariff is expected to have a significant impact on the country's economy. Philippine exports to the US reached $13.44 billion in 2025, down from $14.5 billion in 2024, but still accounted for 15.9 percent of the country's total exports.

Meanwhile, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the new tariffs should encourage the Philippines to diversify its export markets, noting that Washington's trade policy has become increasingly "unpredictable."

"Trump is trying to weaponize tariffs against countries... 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," Ortiz-Luis said.(Marry Ann Aquilla, UP Cebu Comm Intern)

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