Philippines, ASEAN urged to broaden trade beyond US and China

WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has urged the Philippines and other ASEAN members to find more export destinations and supply sources, warning that the region relies heavily on American buyers and Chinese supplies.

Speaking to reporters at WTO headquarters in Geneva, she identified opportunities in Africa, Latin America and Central Asia. She also highlighted resource-rich Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, along with Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus.

Philippine Statistics Authority figures show that the US bought 26.6% of Philippine exports in September. South Korea and China jointly supplied 48.4% of imports. Africa, Central Asia and Latin America were outside the country's leading trading partners that month.

The Philippines recorded US$24.903 billion in goods trade in September, with a deficit of US$5.154 billion. That compared with shortfalls of US$4.293 billion in August and US$4.672 billion in September 2025.

Separately, the WTO's October outlook projected 9.9% growth in Asia's merchandise export volume for 2026, raising its March estimate of 3.5%. WTO chief of forecasting Coleman Nee attributed the stronger outlook mainly to demand for goods that enable artificial intelligence, alongside economies' greater-than-expected resilience to rising energy prices.

For 2027, the WTO forecasts Asian merchandise trade volume growth of 5.2%, above its earlier projection of 3.2%. Nee said uncertainty remained over energy prices and how long the AI investment boom would last.