May 2, 2025 l Manila Times
In 1933, then-US President Franklin Roosevelt delivered a radio address to mark his first 100 days in office. From then on, the 100th day of a head of state’s term in many countries has become a benchmark of his administration’s achievements in its early months.
The second Donald Trump presidency observed its first 100 days this week with mixed reviews. It earned above-average ratings for border security and immigration. However, it obtained low scores on inflation, tariffs and the economy.
Recent surveys show that Trump 2.0 has the lowest 100-day job approval rating among all American presidents since 1945, even lower than the previous bottom dweller, Trump 1.0, in 2016. According to the Gallup Poll, he is the only post-World War II US president to have less than 50 percent public support after only 100 days in office.
Global markets have experienced massive disruptions since Trump declared a trade war against the rest of the world — ostensibly to “make America great again.” Yet the opposite happened: the stock market crashed; the dollar plunged; hundreds of thousands lost their jobs in the federal government; corporate chaos spread; and the US economy shrank in the first quarter of 2025, fueling recession fears due to abrupt policy shifts that have caused uncertainty in the business community, as well as the population at large.
Retaliation mode
Long-time US allies-turned-enemies are now in retaliation mode. On April 28, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party pulled off a stunning political upset by running on an anti-Trump platform. He vowed never to yield to Trump’s threat of making Canada the 51st American state.
Meanwhile, the European Union is set to bring down trade barriers with China, including the tariffs it had imposed on Chinese electric vehicles.
And a Taiwanese electronics supplier of Apple warned that Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff pronouncements were confusing US customers and could lead to shortages of consumer electronics in America.
Ironically, China’s President Xi Jinping has become the leading advocate of free trade in the capitalist world. He recently visited Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam offering more trade and investments to countries hit by Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian was quoted saying, “during times of challenges, countries should aim for more cooperation, not isolationist policies.”
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong went to the extent of slamming Trump’s tariffs as “not actions by a friend,” and pointed out that “Asia bears the brunt of US tariff increases.”
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called on his fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders to deepen the region’s economic integration, while Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto flew to Kuala Lumpur and devised a joint strategy with Malaysia to weather the economic storm resulting from Trump’s so-called new world order.
What about the Philippines? What have our economic managers done to cope with the impact of the 17-percent tariff on Philippine exports to the US? So far, their reactions are in stark contrast to those of their Asean counterparts.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto believes the economy remains resilient amid global trade shifts. Trade Secretary Cristina Roque considers the 17-percent tariff low, since it supposedly gives the Philippines new opportunities to boost its exports to America.
Economic czar Frederick Go also downplayed the tariff’s impact, seeing it instead as a positive development for the country’s economic future.
On the other hand, Philippine business organizations have expressed worries about Trump’s tariff tantrums. The Management Association of the Philippines said the escalating trade war “may prosper into a contagion that will eventually affect us.”
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry is wary of the potential impact of the actions other countries may take in response to the US’ reciprocal tariffs” that would “hit small businesses the hardest, particularly in agriculture and food processing.”
Why the seeming nonchalance on the part of the Marcos administration, despite the turmoil in global trade? It’s been a month since Trump’s “Liberation Day” address, but there has only been radio silence from Malacañang. Quo vadis, Bagong Pilipinas?
***The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as FINEX. For comments, email nextgenmedia@gmail.com. Photo is from Pinterest.