Philippine officials made trade and investment pitches to American businesses Tuesday (Manila time, Monday US) in Las Vegas, invoking the strong relations between the Philippines and the United States.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) embarked on their US campaign at a time when the US Trade Representative released also on March 3 President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ Trade Policy Agenda for 2025. The agenda delivered by USTR Jamieson Greer to Congress on March 3 focused on restoring the US’ economic and industrial strength through a national trade policy that prioritizes American workers, innovation and defense.
Sought for comment, Director Bianca Sykimte of the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau said the agency is reviewing the US document.
But Sykimte in her presentation at a Las Vegas exhibition, identified key sectors where US investments can drive growth and innovation in the Philippines.
These sectors are renewable energy, semiconductors, agriculture, defense and aerospace manufacturing, critical minerals and electric vehicles, logistics and shipping and information technology, and business process management (IT-BPM), Sykimte said.
Sykimte was at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Global Health Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas.
Citing a 2024 report of the Washington DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Sykimte said the Philippines is one of the top destinations for US firms seeking to outsource services.
The CSIS report showed 395 US firms have invested $22.4 billion in the Philippines between 2003 and
2021, of which $7.8 billion or 35 percent went to IT-BPM, she said.
The industry caters to the banking,financial services and insurance, healthcare, retail and IT sectors.
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority and the EMB as of February 2025, the US was the Philippines’ largest trading partner with a 10.11 percent share. Total merchandise trade stood at $20.29 billion as of 2024.
Sykimte said the US is the top export market with a 16.55 percent share and the fifth largest import source with a 6.41 percent share.
In a separate presentation at the Las Vegas event, PEZA acting deputy director-general Joy Alguso said there were 313 American companies registered with the agency with cumulative investments of P129.93 billion since PEZA then the Export Processing Zone Authority was created in 1995.
These locators employ 338,438 to date.
The USTR on its website said US goods trade with the Philippines amounted to $23.5 billion in 2024. US goods exported to the Philippines in 2024 were $9.3 billion, up 0.4 percent ($38.8 million) from 2023. US goods imports from the Philippines totaled $14.2 billion in 2024, up 6.9 percent ($912 million) from 2023.
The US goods trade deficit with the Philippines stood at $4.9 billion in 2024.
