President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. left for Washington, D.C. on Sunday for a three-day official visit, where he is expected to press for a bilateral trade deal and discuss defense cooperation in a high-level meeting with United States President Donald Trump.

“This visit is the first by an ASEAN head of state to the United States under this administration,” Marcos said in his departure speech at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

“My meeting with President Trump is essential to continuing and to advance our national interest and strengthening our alliance.”

Cushioning impact

The visit comes as the Philippines seeks to ease the impact of a proposed 20 percent US tariff on Philippine exports.

 “My top priority for this visit is to push for greater economic engagement, particularly through trade and investment between the Philippines and the United States,” he added.

Marcos also emphasized that he plans to convey to President Trump and his Cabinet that the Philippines is ready to pursue a bilateral trade deal — one that will foster strong, mutually beneficial, and forward-looking cooperation between the two nations.

“As with my previous visits to different countries, I expect to meet with business leaders to explore business opportunities that will help to grow our economy even more,” the President indicated.

The economic team, headed by Special Assistant to the President for Investments and Economic Affairs, Secretary Fred Go, Trade and Industry Secretary Cris Roque and Undersecretaries Ceferino Rodolfo and Allan Gepty, is already there as part of their tariff negotiations.

 “And so we — I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also on trade. And we will see how much progress we can make when it comes to the negotiations with the United States concerning the changes that we would like to institute to be able to alleviate the effects of a very severe tariff schedule on the Philippines,” Marcos said.