Ambassador Kirk met with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today for a wide-ranging discussion of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade issues. He and Arroyo discussed the need to explore new avenues of cooperation under the U.S.-Philippine Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, including on issues such as customs, services, and trade and the environment. Ambassador Kirk emphasized the importance of further building bilateral trade and investment relations and addressing outstanding bilateral issues.
Ambassador Kirk and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
The United States and the Philippines have an extensive trade and investment relationship. Two-way trade between the United States and the Philippines totaled more than $21 billion in 2008, with U.S. goods exports up 7.6 percent in 2008 over the previous year. The top U.S. export categories were electrical machinery, cereals, machinery, optic and medical instruments, and food waste and animal feed. The Philippines is the 12th largest U.S. agriculture market, with exports totaling $1.7 billion in 2008. U.S. foreign direct investment in the Philippines was nearly $7 billion in 2007 (latest available data), much of it invested in the manufacturing sector.
