The first-ever bilateral meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and United States President Donald Trump is finally taking place this month, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Friday.
According to the DFA, Marcos will visit Washington from 20 to 22 July, confirming details earlier disclosed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The Philippine government confirms the statement made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that President Marcos will visit the United States from 20-22 July,” the department’s statement read.
Rubio, who met with his counterparts Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on the sidelines of the 58th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Malaysia, earlier revealed that Marcos and Trump will have their first bilateral meeting in Washington.
"(We) look forward to hosting the President of the Philippines in Washington in a few days," he said.
The DFA said it is still finalizing the details of Marcos’ visit to Washington with its counterparts from the US State Department.
“We are working with the US State Department to finalize the details of the visit. We will share more information once these are finalized,” it said.
Marcos’ announced visit to the US on Sunday came after Trump issued another tariff notice to at least seven countries, including the Philippines, a key US ally in Asia.
In the letter, Trump said the Philippines will be slapped with a higher 20 percent tariff rate which will go into effect on 1 August, to replace the 17 percent rate earlier set on 2 April.
The Marcos administration earlier said that a trade delegation will be flying to the US to hold another round of negotiations on the subject.