July 2025 Exports Bolster PH External Trade Growth, Pending US Tariff Impacts

The Philippines’ annual external trade in goods grew by 7.7 percent annually in July 2025 from the same period in 2024, owing to a 17.3-percent annual increase in exports driven mainly by semiconductor “frontloading” from the United States. Electronics-led export growth, fueled by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, also outpaced the annual increase in imports and led to a slight narrowing of the country’s trade deficit by 17 percent annually.

Economists expect the impacts of new US tariffs to manifest beginning August, but trade diversification efforts may be able to cushion potentially lower US demand for semiconductors and other exports.

Read the full assessment here.