MANILA — The 19% tariff rate on Philippine exports to the United States, announced during the recent meeting between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington D.C., is not yet final and remains under negotiation, Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez said.

In a radio interview with dzRH, Romualdez explained that the figure is “provisional” and may still be adjusted before the August 1 deadline.

“‘Yung 1 percent na ‘yan ay parang pag-appease lang ‘yan. Parang sinabi ni President Trump, okay, gawin natin 19 percent ‘yan pero gawin nating free importation ng American goods sa Pilipinas,” he said.

Marcos visited the U.S. for three days to discuss trade, defense, investment, and overseas Filipino concerns. The Philippine delegation, led by Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, continues to meet with American counterparts to clarify the deal’s specifics.

“In fact, mayroon mga government officials ng US na pupunta diyan na hopefully within the next couple of days at pag-uusapan nila ‘yung tariff… Remember, we have until August 1 to finalize everything,” Romualdez said.

While the 19% rate is lower than the 20% floated by the U.S. for other countries, the ambassador said the Philippine side is still working to reduce it further. “We’re also going to look at the details on how we will be able to fine-tune it so that possibly we can lower it,” he said.

Romualdez also assured that agricultural products are excluded from the zero-tariff concessions for American goods. Only imports the Philippines does not produce—or produces in very small quantities—are being considered.

The ambassador described the visit as a success and quoted Trump as saying, “tough negotiator ito si President Marcos.” He also claimed Trump expressed admiration for Filipinos, including those working at his golf clubs.

On undocumented Filipinos in the U.S., Romualdez advised them to legalize their status or consider voluntary return. “Kung wala silang ginawang masama… iklaro nilang mabuti na wala na ‘yun,” he added.