American Brand in the Philippines

His Excellency Ambassador Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez is on point when he described our relationship with the US as being in “high gear.” Indeed, it’s a busy time for both countries as the two nations strengthen economic, diplomatic and security ties.

As our indefatigable ambassador to the US said, this week is especially a busy time in Washington with the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and the Philippine Economic Briefing.

During the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue this week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed their support for “unimpeded lawful commerce and full respect for international law, including freedom of navigation, and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea.”

They exchanged views on key regional and global developments that threaten global peace and the international rules-based order.

A major part of the dialogue is the mutual understanding of accelerating the implementation of EDCA projects and increased investments in EDCA Agreed Locations to further support combined training and exercises between the US and Philippine Armed Forces.

The secretaries also committed to advance the “shared agenda for inclusive and sustainable economic growth through the modernization of infrastructure, the digital economy, enhanced agricultural productivity, promotion of renewable energy and green technologies and enhanced food and energy security;

“Further collaborate in resilient supply chains and safeguarding critical and emerging technologies. This includes working together to develop and build the resilience of the Philippine and US semiconductor industries.”

Philippine Economic Briefing

Apart from the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, there’s also the Marcos administration’s Philippine Economic Briefing, which is expected to have been concluded by the time this column is published.

The briefing focuses on the economic performance and key economic liberalization reforms the Philippines has done in a bid to encourage foreign investments in different sectors of the country.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) organized the economic briefing in partnership with the Philippine embassy and Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Washington, with the support of partner banks such as HSBC, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, Standard Chartered Bank and Morgan Stanley.

Carrying the theme, “Think Growth, Think Philippines,” the Philippine Economic Briefing serves as an avenue for the country’s economic managers to discuss investment opportunities in the Philippines.

Trade Winds

Against this backdrop of strengthening Philippines-US relations, it’s no surprise that the US has resumed its flagship overseas trade promotion program Trade Winds here in the country.

I had the pleasure and honor of attending the Trade Winds ASEAN 2023 reception at the US Ambassador’s residence last month, during which Her Excellency Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said many companies and individuals are interested in expanding the US-Philippines trade and investment relationship.

“Trade Winds is the US Department of Commerce’s flagship overseas trade promotion program. It’s hard to believe, but it has been more than 10 years since Trade Winds visited the Philippines. Now that the world is emerging from the pandemic, it is exciting to see the Department of Commerce focusing on Southeast Asia to kick-start its return to face-to-face trade missions and people-to-people engagement,” she said during last month’s event.

Best of America

That night I had a chance to chat with officials from some of the US companies interested in expanding to the Philippines – from Duck Donuts to Coursera Inc.

“The US companies here tonight as part of the Trade Winds mission represent the best of America, from innovative technology, an interest in partnerships with local Filipino companies and a willingness to collaborate around shared values,” Ambassador Carlson said.

Aside from Duck Donuts and Coursera, other companies that were part of the trade mission and are interested in doing business in the Philippines are Global Accounting, Rife International, Thales Defense & Security Inc., Astranis Space Technologies Corp., UniXporter LLC, Vibrac, Key Resin Company and Dermaesthetics Beverly Hills Formula USA.

Trade Winds conducts trade missions annually, said US embassy in the Philippines senior commercial officer Paul Taylor.

And what do US companies like in the Philippines? Taylor said they’re looking at ease of doing business and an efficient workforce.

That night, Ambassador Carlson also urged Filipino companies to work with American companies and tap the potential of vibrant bilateral trade and investment ties. In 2022, trade between the Philippines and the US exceeded $33 billion.

In all, the US envoy to the Philippines said: “Commercial engagement between Americans and Filipinos is a key component of our relationship as friends and partners. The consumer products and services we use every day and the brands that have become part of our lives, frequently define our understanding of another country.

“This is both a significant opportunity and a major responsibility for the American companies with us tonight. You play an important part in defining the American Brand here in the Philippines.”

The  strong – or, more accurately, stronger – Philippines-US relations now under the Marcos administration is no surprise, given the history of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. with Uncle Sam. It was in 1979 when the elder Marcos stressed the need for a Philippines-US alliance.

We will now have to wait and see how these stronger relations, in high gear as Ambassador Romualdez puts it, would translate to better economic ties between the US and the Philippines.

I hope to see more jobs for Filipinos if these US companies set up shop in our country – without displacing local industries, of course.

We have much to offer, indeed. The Philippines is in a strategic place in Asia and the Filipinos are among the best in the world.

But more importantly, I look forward to mutually beneficial and enhanced relations between the two nations.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.