The Philippines was a vital trading center for the Spanish from 1521 until 1898, after which it became an American colony. The Philippines became independent in 1946, and is the third largest English-speaking country in the world.

The country's economy has showed resiliency amidst the Asian financial crisis, and is boosted mainly by its export-oriented manufacturing sector, particularly in electronics and automotive parts. The creation of export processing zones, including the former United States bases in Subic and Clark, has facilitated a rise in foreign direct investment. The Philippines has pursued a policy of economic liberalization in the past decade, which has resulted in the liberalization of its retail trade, telecommunications, banking, mining, oil sector, and more recently its power sector.

The Philippine government is currently implementing reforms to strengthen its economy.
It has recently enacted the Optical Media Act that strengthens intellectual property rights protection, and has advanced the government-wide use of the e-procurement system to promote transparency in government purchases. It has strengthened its regulations in the banking sector, and is undergoing fiscal consolidation through the strengthening of the tax base and tightening of spending, in line with its Medium-Term Development Plan.

For more information on our Philippines affairs, please contact:
Marc Mealy
Senior Director, Brunei, Malaysia, and Philippines Affairs
Coordinator, Financial Services Working Group
mmealy@usasean.org

In addition to our work through our Washington, DC headquarters, the Council also maintains a strong presence in Manila. For assistance, please contact:
Evelyn Mariano
Representative, Manila Office
emariano@usasean.org

Please contact Marc Mealy at mmealy@usasean.org for upcoming Philippines event in the works.

more upcoming events

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more headline news

Breakfast Meeting with H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Philippines

Washington, DC, February 6, 2009

Above: Council President Matt Daley (left) with H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (right).

On February 6th, the members of the US ASEAN Business Council hosted a US-Philippines business dialogue with H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Senior executives representing The Coca-Cola Company, General Electric, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Unisys, Diageo, Cargill, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Adventis, Philip Morris, AES, Oracle, and Qualcomm attended the program. The discussion covered a wide range of bilateral trade and investment issues in areas such as renewable energy, telecommunications, healthcare, agriculture and information technology. President Arroyo, accompanied by her Secretary of Trade and Secretary of Foreign Affairs was in Washington DC on a two-day working visit to the United States. For a full meeting report, please click here (Council members only).

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2008 Philippines Business Mission

Manila, October 15-17, 2008

Above: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (center) hosted the delegation for a lunch meeting at the Malacanang Palace. The delegation was co-led by Council's Vice President William Marmon (left) and Chair of the US-Philippines Business Council Kandy Anand (right) of the Ccoca-Cola Company.

During the lunch meeting, President Arroyo was accompanied by Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Trade Secretary Peter Favila, and Custom Commissioner Napoleon Morales.

The delegation also met with Director General of IPR Adrian Cristobal, Undersecretary of Trade & Industry Tomas Aquino, officials at the US Embassy in Manila, the Philippines Chamber of Commerce. One of the highlights of the mission included a lunch discussion on Trends on Human Capital Developments and Foreign Direct Investments.

For a press release of the Mission, please click here.

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Dinner in honor of
Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Philippines

Washington, DC, June 24, 2008

The US-ASEAN Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce organized a dinner in honor of Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (top picture), President of the Philippines. President Arroyo was in Washington by invitation from the White House. The Honorable Elaine Chao (middle picture), US Secretary of Labor gave the introduction of President Arroyo.

Prior to the Dinner, Council members had an excellent roundtable discussion with distinguished Cabinet Officials that were part of the President's delegation, including Hon. Margarito C. Teves (bottom picture, 2nd from left), Secretary of Finance; Hon. Peter B. Favila, Secretary of Trade and Industry; Hon. Rolando G. Andaya, Jr., Secretary of Budget and Management; Hon. Amando V. Tetangco, Jr., Governor, Central Bank of the Philippines. For a full report of the roundtable, click here (Council members only).

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US-Philippines Business Council's
Chair:

Kandy Anand,
The Coca-Cola Company

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GDP: $298.9 billion (2007 est.)
GDP Growth Rate: 7.3% (2007 est.)

Export-Import
U.S. export to Philippines: $ 7.7 billion (2007)
U.S. import from Philippines: $ 9.4 billion (2007)

Currency Rate

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H.E. Willy C. Gaa
Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States

The Honorable Kristie Kenney
United States Ambassador to the Philippines