November 19, 2025
MANILA – More than $1 billion worth of Philippine exports bound for the United States are set to be spared from the 19-percent headline tariff following the new exemption for certain goods, mainly agricultural products.
This came after US President Donald Trump issued a Nov. 14 executive order granting reciprocal tariff exemptions for goods that cannot be produced in large quantities stateside, including coffee, cocoa, bananas, tomatoes and beef.
READ: Trump tariff starts to gnaw on Philippine exports
Other projects that will be spared from the levy include:
- Coconut (copra) oil;
- fruit juices;
- processed pineapples;
- desiccated coconuts;
- prepared or preserved coconuts;
- bananas, other than pulp;
- dried guavas, mangoes, and mangosteen;
- frozen tuna fillets;
- rice wafer products; and
- confectionary products.
With this development, approximately 46 percent of the Philippines’ exports to the US will now be tariff-free, said Board of Investment Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo, citing data from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics.
Coconuts account for 60 percent of the $1 billion in exempt agricultural products, making them the Philippines’ top export to the US.
While the exemption took effect in all countries the US trades with, newly appointed Finance Secretary Frederick Go still described it as “good news.”