Despite the “not-so-appreciated” 19 percent tariffs that United States President Donald Trump imposed on all US-bound Philippine exports, a Canadian business mogul suggests that the US should have a lower reciprocal tariff with the Philippines.

The 19 percent export duties were announced by Trump during his meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House, in which Trump described Marcos as a “very tough negotiator” in advancing Philippine interests.

Under the trade deal reached, President Marcos confirmed that the Philippines will remove tariffs on American automobile imports, a move that raised the eyebrows of some business leaders who requested anonymity.

Phl, Indonesia tariff rate similar

“Our tariff rates with Indonesia are now the same. But unlike us, Indonesia did not offer anything. And for us, we offered zero tariffs on US imports. It’s unfair,” the source said.

In a television interview on Wednesday morning (US time), Canadian business mogul Kevin O Leary stressed that the US should have minimal reciprocal tariffs with the Philippines, treating the country as a significant US ally.

“It’s more important than many other countries because it’s strategic militarily in what’s going on with China, and we need access to that land mass if we’re going to talk about protecting our interests in Taiwan in that region. It is also a good trade partner, as a lot of manufacturing has moved out of China there. We do some business there. It would be good to have a reciprocal tariff that’s low with the Philippines,” he said.

He said the Philippines is a “good” country to do business with, having been very friendly for a long time with the US.

“So, you want those metrics in deals. And I think Trump made it very clear that it’s more than just trade. So many of these countries now are getting tied up into the China narrative in that region. It’s right, because we’re not really in a trade dispute only with China. We’re in an economic war, an AI war, an IP theft war, access to capital markets war. And, you know, this is a chess piece in that, and I think that’s what you heard today,” he explained.

Kevin O’Leary is a Canadian entrepreneur, financier and television personality.