Washington, Jul 22 (AP) President Donald Trump said he reached a trade agreement with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr following a meeting at the White House that will see the US slightly drop its tariff rate for the Philippines without paying import taxes for what it sells there.

Trump announced the broad terms of the agreement on his social media network Tuesday and added the US and the Philippines would work together militarily. The announcement of a loose framework of a deal comes as the two countries are seeking closer security and economic ties in the face of shifting geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Philippine Embassy did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment, but Marcos' government indicated ahead of the meeting that he was prepared to offer zero tariffs on some US goods to strike a deal with Trump.

The Filipino leader's three-day visit shows the importance of the alliance between the treaty partners when China is increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have clashed over the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal.

Without further details on the agreement Trump and Marcos struck, it's unclear how it will impact their countries' economies.

Trump, in the post on Truth Social outlining his agreement, said the US would impose a 19% tariff rate for the Philippines, down from a 20% tariff he threatened to impose starting Aug 1. In return, he said, the Philippines would have an open market and the US would not pay tariffs.

Trump wrote on social media Marcos' visit was “beautiful” and it was a “Great Honour” to host such a “very good, and tough, negotiator”.

As the two leaders sat in the Oval Office in front of reporters on Tuesday, Marcos spoke warmly of the relationship between their two nations and said, “This has evolved into as important a relationship as is possible to have.” Trump, as he does in many of his appearances, veered off topic as he fielded questions from reporters.

In response to a question about his Justice Department's decision to interview Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Trump launched into a long answer repeating falsehoods about his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and the Russia investigation during his first term, along with comments about targeting his political adversaries, including former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“After what they did to me, whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people,” Trump said, with Marcos sitting nearby.

When asked by a reporter how he plans to balance his country's relationships between the US and China, Marcos said there was no need to balance “because our foreign policy is an independent one”.

“Our strongest partner has always been the United States,” he said.

Washington sees Beijing, the world's No. 2 economy, as its biggest competitor, and consecutive presidential administrations have sought to shift US military and economic focus to the Asia-Pacific in a bid to counter China. Trump, like others before him, has been distracted by efforts to broker peace in a range of conflicts, from Ukraine to Gaza.

On Tuesday, when asked about the US defence commitment to the Philippines, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said: “Whatever cooperation the US and the Philippines have, it should not target or harm any third party, still less incite confrontation and heighten tensions in the region.” The White House said ahead of Tuesday's meeting Trump would discuss with Marcos the shared commitment to upholding a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific.

Marcos, who met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, is the first Southeast Asian leader to hold talks with Trump in his second term.

Before a meeting with Marcos at the Pentagon, Hegseth reiterated America's commitment to “achieving peace through strength” in the region.

Marcos, whose country is one of the oldest US treaty allies in the Pacific region, told Hegseth that the assurance to come to each other's mutual defence “continues to be the cornerstone of that relationship, especially when it comes to defence and security cooperation”.

He said the cooperation has deepened since Hegseth's March visit to Manila, including joint exercises and US support in modernizing the Philippines' armed forces. Marcos thanked the US for support “that we need in the face of the threats that we, our country, is facing”.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have been involved in long-unresolved territorial conflicts in the South China Sea, a busy shipping passage for global trade.

The Chinese coast guard has repeatedly used water cannons to hit Filipino boats in the South China Sea. China accused those vessels of entering the waters illegally or encroaching on its territory.

Hegseth told a security forum in Singapore in May that China poses a threat and the US is “reorienting toward deterring aggression by Communist China”.

During Marcos' meeting Monday with Rubio, the two reaffirmed the alliance “to maintain peace and stability” in the region and discussed closer economic ties, including boosting supply chains, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

The US has endeavoured to keep communication open with Beijing. Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met this month on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They agreed to explore “areas of potential cooperation” and stressed the importance of managing differences. (AP) SCY