©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo attends a news conference at Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services near Shanghai Pudong International Airport, in Shanghai, China, August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song//file Photo
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Secretary Gina Raimondo will lead a presidential trade and investment mission to the Philippines starting on Monday as the United States seeks to strengthen economic ties across the region.
Raimondo plans to tout the Philippines as a key hub for regional supply chains and investments in support of the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy during his visit on Monday and Tuesday. He will then travel to Thailand for two days of meetings for a presidential mission of the Export Council.
“We want to deepen our economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific, which is dynamic — some of the fastest growing dynamic economies in the world,” Raimondo said in an interview, saying the trip aims to strengthen “our economic ties and trade in the Indo-Pacific.”
Security engagements between the Philippines and the United States have increased significantly under the presidency of Joe Biden and his counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.
Raimondo said she is often asked whether the United States is asking Indo-Pacific countries to choose between China and the United States.
“Absolutely not, but we want the United States to be the economic partner of choice,” Raimondo said. “For this to happen, we need to show up and show up in the country with money, collaboration and constant presence.”
Raimondo took a trip to China in August where he met with Chinese leaders and touted American companies’ desire to do business in China.
The U.S. delegation to the Philippines includes executives from 22 companies including United Airlines, Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:) Google, Black & Veatch, Visa (NYSE:), EchoStar/DISH, United Parcel Service (NYSE:), Boston Consulting Group, KKR Asia Pacific, Bechtel, FedEx (NYSE:), Mastercard (NYSE:) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:), the White House said.
United said last week it will launch new flights from Tokyo-Narita to Cebu, Philippines, starting July 31. Raimondo said he hopes there will be new announcements of U.S. investment in the Philippines this week and that this week’s talks will lay the groundwork for future trade investments. .
Raimondo’s visit to Thailand will focus on manufacturing, supply chain resilience, artificial intelligence and clean technology. In Bangkok, Raimondo will participate in a hybrid meeting of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) ministerial meeting with IPEF partners following the November meetings.