Worst president ever: Marcos has reverted us back into a US colony
2% increase, not ‘1% cut’
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is proving to be the Philippines’ worst president ever. He offered United States President Donald Trump — who, of course, readily agreed — to have zero tariffs on American exports to our country and agreed to 19-percent taxes being imposed on Philippine exports to that country.
Marcos even dishonestly claimed the 19-percent tariff on Philippine exports to the US agreed upon was a “significant achievement” since it is a “tariff cut by 1 percent,” which our servile media echoed in their banner headlines.
That is blatantly wrong, practically fake news. Our present trade-weighted tariff rate for our exports to the US is 17 percent, per World Bank data. The 19-percent tariff Marcos agreed to is not a decrease of 1 percent in taxes, rather a 2-percent increase in tariff that Philippine exporters would have to pay the US government. The 20-percent rate, which Marcos claims he negotiated down to 19 percent, was the threat that Trump warned Marcos and many other country heads he would impose, not the existing tariff rates.
It’s another case demonstrating that “fake news” isn’t really our problem, but the mainstream media’s vulnerability and/or servility to false American narratives.
While electronics and information technology products are exempt from the new tariff scheme, there are a host of Philippine exports (e.g., footwear, desiccated coconut, food products, medical and optical equipment) that have less than 5-percent tariffs at present, but would now fall under the across-the-board 19-percent rate.
The zero-tariff regime that would take effect Aug. 1 reverts the country to its colonial status from 1898 to 1946 when, being a colony of the US, the Americans didn’t impose any such taxes on its exports to the Philippines. This formed much of the country’s economic structure, as the flood of American imports precluded the emergence of local industries and even wiped out those already in existence. At the same time, with zero taxes on Philippine exports to the US, our elites focused on creating the sugar and coconut sectors that made our country a backward, agriculture-based economy for many decades.
Colony
Even after the formal ending of our status as a colony, when we gained independence in 1946, the US required the Philippines to have zero tariffs on US exports as a condition for the granting of reparations for damages incurred during World War II. The zero-tariff regime continued until 1954, after which tariffs were imposed gradually, and on a minimal scale, until 1974.
To understand more the impact of these developments, “tariff” and “duty” are terms that hide the fact that it is in fact a form of tax as it generates revenues for governments, collected at their borders. Marcos agreeing to a zero tariff means that US exports to the Philippines are not taxed, while Philippine exports to the US are taxed 19 percent. Yet Marcos calls it a “significant achievement.”
However, Marcos’ allies proved stupider than him. His political lieutenant, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, said:
“Access to the US market is a game changer.” He doesn’t seem to know the difference between “imports” and “exports.” Marcos’ capitulation to Trump, his agreeing to a zero tariff on US imports increases American companies’ access to our market. Philippine exporters’ access to the US is charged another 1-percent tax.
Two of Marcos’ top political assassins against Vice President Sara Duterte — Representatives Zia Adiong and Paolo Ortega — got their nose so brown praising Marcos’ “leadership”: “skillful” said the former, and ”principled,” said the latter.
Deal
“Skillful and principled” in that Marcos was reportedly told by Trump’s people with regard to his “trade deal”: “Take it or leave it, the president is too busy to undertake any more negotiations,” and our President nodded his head?
This account that there was hardly any negotiations at all, just a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum is bolstered by the fact that Trump’s schedule on July 22 reported that the meeting with Marcos started at the Oval Office from 11:30 a.m., with Trump’s post in his social media platform “Truth Social” announcing that an “agreement” was reached at 12:37 — which means barely just an hour’s meeting. Right after that the US press was called in to cover Trump’s announcement of the trade deal — which the American reporters practically ignored, with most of their questions directed at the domestic issues facing Trump, such as the growing demand for the release of the “Epstein files” and his allegations of former president Barack Obama’s involvement in a plot with the Russians to discredit his election in 2016.
Did Marcos even have the spine to tell Trump that the deal is so unfair to the Philippines, and could the US’ only colony ever get some concessions, please?
Did he even try negotiating with Trump, for example, arguing that we have US military bases in the country that could be used against China, and for being such a propagandist disseminating anti-China narratives, we deserve at least only a 15-percent tariff, the rate the US gave Japan?
One hour
The one-hour meet obviously did not involve real negotiations. It was only to formally get Marcos’ agreement on Trump’s deal. Marcos himself said in a press conference that the meeting not only involved the tariff issue, but that Trump asked many questions about the threats to the Philippines in the South China Sea and the status of the militaries in the area.
Trump boasted in his social media post: “President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines is just leaving the White House, with all of his many representatives. It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19-percent tariff. In addition, we will work together militarily.”
Marcos’ total capitulation to Trump’s “Trade Deal” bolsters the analysis that the US may have played dirty and informed him that the alleged involvement of first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos — even if only as a witness — in the death by cocaine overdose of the billionaire scion Paulo Tantoco last March 4, could be leaked to the media, or the LA police could summon her for questioning, which would be extremely embarrassing, even destabilizing to this administration? The first lady obviously got worried over the possibility that she wouldn’t join her husband’s official trip to Washington.
We have a spineless government and a ruthless superpower, and an absurdly stupid situation.
Marcos and his officials day in and day out condemn China as the enemy and hail the US as our Big Brother. Yet 98 percent of our exports enter China duty-free, while the US will impose a 19-percent tariff on most of our exports.
While US companies won’t pay a single peso in taxes for their exports to our country, the Chinese will pay 5.5 percent for nonagricultural exports to the Philippines and 9.8 percent for agricultural exports.
If you’re enamored with the Chinese e-vehicles, curb your enthusiasm. Chinese car imports are imposed a 30-percent tariff. American cars, starting in August, zero. Marcos will be giving American exporters a boon, a huge edge in the Philippine market. For our exporters to the US, an additional 2-percent tax.
Either we have a stupid government, or an insane one.
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The post Worst president ever: Marcos has reverted us back into a US colony first appeared on Rigoberto Tiglao.
Worst president ever: Marcos has reverted us back into a US colony
Source: Breaking News PH
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