U.S. companies to announce investments of more than $1 billion in Philippines | Wilnesh News

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said during an official visit to Manila on Monday that U.S. companies will announce investments of more than $1 billion in the Philippines.

Raimondo will lead a two-day trade and investment mission, the first such visit to the Philippines.The delegation included senior executives from 22 companies, including United Airlinesalphabetical Google, visa, KKR Asia Pacific, and Microsoft.

She said the investments would cover areas such as solar energy, electric vehicles and digitalization.

United said last week it would launch new flights from Tokyo Narita Airport to Cebu in the Philippines starting July 31.

The United States has deepened economic ties with the Philippines while also strengthening defense cooperation. U.S. President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are both keen to push back against what they see as Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.

Raimondo, speaking at a joint briefing with Philippine officials after meeting Marcos at the presidential palace, said Washington’s commitment to expanding trade and investment in the Philippines extends to the greater Indo-Pacific region through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework – A group led by a 14-nation U.S. framework.

Raimondo reiterated that the United States has no intention of “decoupling” from China, but it will not be allowed to obtain Washington’s advanced technology.

“My job is to protect the American people and make sure that our most advanced technologies, including semiconductor technology, artificial intelligence technology that we have that China doesn’t have, they can’t access and use it to help the Chinese military,” Raimondo said.

She also reaffirmed the U.S.-Philippines alliance, calling it “ironclad.”

The Philippines has a 73-year-old mutual defense treaty with the United States, making it Washington’s oldest treaty ally in the Asia-Pacific region.

After his trip to Manila, Raimondo will travel to Thailand for a two-day conference. She will lead members of the U.S. President’s Export Council to identify opportunities for greater cooperation between the two countries in areas such as manufacturing and supply chain resiliency.