U.S.-Philippine relations are based on strong historical and cultural linkages and shared democratic values. The United States established diplomatic relations with the Philippines in 1946. More than four million Filipino Americans live in the United States, and almost 700,000 U.S. citizens reside in the Philippines, including many U.S. military veterans. Manila is home to the only Veterans Administration regional office outside the United States, and the Manila American Cemetery, run by the American Battle Monuments Commission, is the largest American military cemetery outside the United States. In 2023, over 900,000 U.S. citizens visited the Philippines.
The 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty provides a strong foundation for our robust security partnership. Vibrant people-to-people ties, and strong economic partnerships provide meaningful ways to engage on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues. The U.S.-Philippine Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD) is the annual forum for forward planning across the spectrum of our relationship. The most recent BSD took place in April 2024 when senior Philippine and U.S. foreign affairs and defense officials convened in Washington, D.C. President Biden hosted President Marcos for a bilateral meeting in April 2024, and the presidents also joined Japanese Prime Minister Kishida for the first-ever Trilateral Leaders' Summit. Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin hosted their Philippine counterparts for a "2+2" ministerial in April 2024; the next "2+2" will be held for the first time in Manila, in July 2024. The United States and the Philippines expect to hold an inaugural Democracy Dialogue later in 2024.
People-to-people exchange programs between the United States and the Philippines include the longest continuously running Fulbright program in the world, the International Visitor Leadership Program, and the Young Southeast Asia Leaders Initiative. The Philippines is home to more than 9,000 Filipino alumni of U.S. exchange programs; 1,000 U.S. citizens have participated in U.S. exchange programs in the Philippines.
U.S. Assistance to Philippines
For the past 60 years, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has worked with the Philippine government and local organizations to achieve shared development goals, investing more than $5 billion to support the Philippines since 1961. The United States is among the largest bilateral donors to the Philippines. USAID invests approximately $120 million annually to promote inclusive, market-driven growth; foster strong democratic systems and economic governance; promote responsible natural resource management; and improve access to and quality of education and health services. The United States has had a Peace Corps program in the Philippines for over 50 years.
The U.S. Government strengthens communities' ability to respond to and recover from disasters, as well as improve their capacity to withstand future calamities. Over the last decade, disaster relief and recovery has become a vital area of assistance to the Philippines. Since 2010, USAID has provided more than $370 million in disaster relief and boosted the disaster risk reduction capacity of over 100 cities and municipalities. This includes relief and recovery efforts after Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda devastated the country in 2013 and after Super Typhoon Rai/Odette made landfall in 2021. As the largest humanitarian donor in the Philippines, USAID implements robust early recovery, risk reduction, and resilience programs and coordinates with the Philippine government, local communities, and non-governmental organizations to help vulnerable populations prepare for and respond to disasters.
As the largest humanitarian donor in the Philippines, USAID implements robust early recovery, risk reduction, and resilience programs and coordinates with the Philippine government, local communities, and non-governmental organizations to help vulnerable populations prepare for and respond to disasters.
Bilateral Economic Relations
U.S. companies are among the Philippines' largest and oldest investors, private employers, and taxpayers. Our commercial ties have created millions of Filipino jobs. The United States and the Philippines have a strong trade and investment relationship, with $22.6 billion in total goods trade during 2023 and an estimated $12.3 billion in trade in services in 2023. The United States is one of the Philippines' largest export markets and sources of foreign investment. Key U.S. imports from the Philippines include semiconductor devices and computer peripherals, automobile parts, electric machinery, textiles and garments, wheat and animal feeds, coconut oil, and information technology/business process outsourcing services. Key U.S. exports to the Philippines are agriculture goods, machinery, cereals, raw and semi-processed materials for the manufacture of semiconductors, electronics, and transport equipment.
The United States is partnering with the Philippines to explore opportunities to grow and diversify the global semiconductor ecosystem under the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund, created by the CHIPS Act of 2022. In July 2024, the civil nuclear cooperation "123" agreement entered into force, enabling the United States and the Philippines to enhance our cooperation on clean energy and energy security. In March 2024, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo led the first-of-its-kind Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines - resulting in $1 billion in investment pledges from 22 U.S. companies. On July 15-16, the United States hosted the Philippines in Washington for the first United States-Philippines Cyber-Digital Policy Dialogue. The United States and the Philippines co-hosted the Indo-Pacific Business Forum on May 21, bringing together 600 government and private sector participants from 24 countries to discuss trade and investment opportunities. The two countries have a bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, signed in 1989 and most recently convened in July 2024, and a tax treaty. In May 2022, the Philippines and the United States joined 12 other partners to launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). The United States and the Philippines, together with Japan, launched the Luzon Economic Corridor to support connectivity between Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas. Through these and other initiatives, our countries aim to strengthen our economic cooperation through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment- IPEF Investment Accelerator.
The Philippines' Membership in International Organizations
Owing to our shared democratic values and respect for the rule of law, the United States and the Philippines work together to preserve the integrity and independence of international fora such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the United Nations, ASEAN Regional Forum, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. The Philippines served as chair and host of ASEAN for 2017 and will do so again in 2026. The United States strongly supports Philippine government efforts to fully implement the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
