The Philippines, through Agriculture Secretary Francis Tiu-Laurel, has formally assumed the chairmanship of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) 2026, being the host of the forum held in Pasay City this year.

“We are privileged to host this gathering of leaders and partners committed to strengthening our region's food, agriculture, and forestry sectors. Your presence underscores our shared dedication to cooperation, innovation, and addressing the urgent challenges that shape our bodies and impact our lives,” said Tiu-Laurel in his acceptance speech on Wednesday at the event, which ran from September 29 to October 3.

The Philippines, one of the five founding members of ASEAN, last hosted the AMAF in September 2015 in Makati City.

Tiu-Laurel maintained that AMAF is an opportunity to deepen collaboration, foster sustainability, and reaffirm ASEAN’s shared mission of building a resilient, prosperous, and inclusive regional bloc.

During Malaysia’s chairmanship of AMAF in 2025, ASEAN leaders adopted the ASEAN Economic Community Strategic Plan 2026-2030. The roadmap envisions ASEAN becoming the world’s fourth-largest economy by driving innovation, digitization, and sustainability to create a single market and production base that is resilient, competitive, and future-ready.

The Department of Agriculture presided over several major sessions, including the 47th AMAF Meeting, the 25th AMAF Plus Three Meeting (with China, Japan, and South Korea), and the 2nd ASEAN-Japan Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Meeting (AJMAF).

“Looking ahead, the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026, we are championing the ASEAN implementation plan for the regenerative and resilient agricultural sector as a priority economic deliverable, which aligns with global climate and biodiversity targets,” Tiu-Laurel said.

More exemptions on US tariffs

In an ambush interview, Tiu-Laurel revealed that the ASEAN bloc may benefit from potential exemptions from recently imposed tariffs by the United States, following the US-ASEAN Business Council Meeting last Tuesday.

“The US delegation mentioned that there might be certain exemptions on the imposed tariffs, and that's part of what we'll look for during this meeting. The tariff that has been imposed on us and the ASEAN members is almost equal. But of course, we’re here to hopefully find ways to negotiate with America,” he explained.

The Philippines was earlier slapped with a 19 percent tariff on all US-bound exports.

Exempted from the 19 percent tariff are several Philippine agricultural products, including coconut products, varieties of nuts, flour, coffee, cocoa, spices, and fruits such as bananas, pineapples, avocados, guavas, and papayas.

Known as the region’s highest decision-making body on agriculture and forestry, AMAF convenes annually with the participation of ministers and senior officials from all 10 ASEAN member states—Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Ministers from China, Japan, and South Korea also attended the AMAF and took part in the Plus Three sessions.