Marcos to Visit US July 20-22 for First Bilateral Meeting With Trump

On Friday, July 11, 2025, the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs put a date range on a trip that had been anticipated for some time: President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will be in the United States from July 20 to 22.

The announcement came in a short statement from the DFA. It confirmed the third-week-of-July timing but said little else. The agency said it is working with the US State Department to settle the details of the visit, and that it will release more information once those details are final. No itinerary, venues, or delegation list were offered.

What gives the trip its weight is the meeting at its center. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier that Marcos will hold his first bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump during the visit. Rubio's statement is where the Trump meeting comes from. The DFA's own statement, as reported, confirmed the dates and the ongoing coordination with Washington, but did not itself describe the meeting.

The timing matters. The visit follows Washington's decision to impose a 20 percent reciprocal tariff on all Philippine exports, set to take effect August 1, 2025. That puts the trip about ten days ahead of the tariff's start date, and it means the first face-to-face session between the two leaders will happen with the new trade measure already announced and its effective date approaching.

The source does not say what the two leaders will discuss, whether the tariff will be on the formal agenda, or whether Manila expects any change to the rate. It also does not say whether the Philippine government sought the meeting because of the tariff or whether the visit was already being arranged. Those questions remain open, and the DFA has said only that more will come once the arrangements are final.

For now, the confirmed facts are narrow but clear: a three-day visit, a first bilateral meeting with Trump as stated by Rubio, a tariff of 20 percent on all Philippine exports beginning August 1, and a foreign ministry still finalizing logistics with its American counterpart. Watch for the DFA's promised follow-up on the schedule, and for any word on whether the tariff is discussed once the two presidents sit down.