Secretary Raimondo leads successful Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines, President’s Export Council trip to Thailand

Last week, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo traveled to Southeast Asia on behalf of President Biden to lead a Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines and members of the President’s Export Council on a fact-finding trip to Thailand.

From March 11-12, Secretary Raimondo led a delegation of senior executives from 22 prominent U.S. businesses and non-profit organizations on a first-of-its-kind Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to Manila. Secretary Raimondo met with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to discuss cooperation and joint efforts to strengthen commercial relationships and to build resilient supply chains across the Indo-Pacific and reaffirm the importance the United States places on a strong bilateral trade and investment relationship between the two countries.

In Manila, Secretary Raimondo and the Mission’s delegation met with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) of the Philippines to discuss key economic areas of mutual interest. The Secretary also participated in two roundtables – one with Filipina women in business for a discussion on supporting women’s economic empowerment, and one with representatives from labor organizations to emphasize the importance that the Biden-Harris Administration places on advancing labor rights and standards globally.

While in the Philippines, Raimondo encouraged both the U.S. and Philippine private sectors and Philippine government to capitalize on the historic momentum in U.S.-Philippine relations. Together, delegates participating in the Mission have announced over $1 billion of recently-completed or anticipated U.S. investments, creating educational and career opportunities for an estimated over 30 million Filipinos.

“In our first-of-its-kind Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines, we announced over $1 billion in investments,” said Secretary Gina Raimondo. “We share an important relationship with the Philippines, and I believe the work we accomplished will make our partnership even stronger.”

Following Secretary Raimondo’s successful Mission to Manila, the Secretary traveled to Thailand to lead members of the President’s Export Council (PEC) to Bangkok from March 13-14. The focus of this official visit was to identify opportunities for both countries to strengthen commercial relationships across manufacturing, supply chain resiliency, the digital economy, and clean technology.

In Bangkok, Secretary Raimondo met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Phumtham Wechayachai to discuss trade and investment priorities related to the digital economy, clean energy and sustainability, and semiconductors. The Secretary and Minister of Commerce also met with PEC members to exchange ideas on strengthening trade and investment ties across both countries.

While in Thailand, Secretary Raimondo also met with key government officials and stakeholders of the semiconductor industry to discuss ways to strengthen global supply chain resilience and cooperation between the United States and Thailand. Raimondo met with the Minister of Digital Economy and Society Prasert Chanthararuangthong to discuss opportunities for collaboration in the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. With the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, the Secretary had a meeting focused on strengthening diplomatic and commercial ties through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), and with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, Secretary Raimondo thanked Thailand for its continued partnership in advancing shared economic priorities, including through IPEF.

“In Bangkok, members of the PEC met with key representatives and stakeholders, including in the semiconductor industry, to look at how we can strengthen global supply chain resilience,” said Secretary Gina Raimondo. “The U.S. is committed to working with Thailand on this critical issue, and to continue finding ways we can address shared challenges and opportunities with Thailand, as well as our IPEF partners throughout the region, to uplift our economies, workers, and countries.”

In addition to bilateral meetings and engagements with stakeholders, this official visit to Thailand served as an opportunity for Secretary Raimondo to join Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, along with the ministers from the 12 other IPEF partners, in their first ministerial meeting of 2024. During the meeting, Secretary Raimondo reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to work closely with IPEF partners to quickly begin operationalizing the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement after its entry into force on February 24, 2024, and welcomed the significant progress made since the substantial conclusion of the negotiations for the proposed IPEF Clean Economy Agreement, the IPEF Fair Economy Agreement, and Agreement on IPEF in November 2023. The IPEF partners discussed the ongoing cooperative work ahead across the three proposed agreements, and building on that progress, the Department of Commerce published the text of the proposed agreements.