More information about Philippines is available on the Philippines Page and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.

U.S.-PHILIPPINES RELATIONS

The United States established diplomatic relations with the Philippines in 1946.

U.S.-Philippine relations are based on strong historical and cultural linkages and a shared commitment to democracy and human rights.  The 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty provides a strong foundation for our robust post-World War II security partnership.  Strong people-to-people ties, and economic cooperation provide additional avenues 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 January 2023 when senior Philippine and U.S. foreign affairs and defense officials convened in Manila.

More than four million Filipino-Americans live in the United States, and almost 300,000 U.S. citizens reside in the Philippines, including a large number of U.S. military veterans.  Additionally, Manila is home to the only Veterans Administration regional office outside the United States, and the American Cemetery in Manila is the largest American military cemetery outside the United States.  Pre-COVID, more than one million U.S. citizens visited the Philippines each year.  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 Kenney-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program.

U.S. Assistance to Philippines

The U.S. government’s goals in the Philippines are to strengthen democratic governance and support Philippine government efforts to promote inclusive development and contribute to security and development cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.  U.S. assistance to the Philippines helps expand inclusive, market-driven growth; foster strong democratic systems and good economic, health, and education governance; promote responsible natural resource management; and enhance resilience for communities and the environment.

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.  Current development priorities include responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigating and adapting to climate change, promoting renewable energy, preventing and mitigating conflict, bolstering economic recovery, advancing democratic values, fighting corruption, and advocating for human rights.  The Departments of State, Defense, and USAID also implement programs in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao that aim to create a sustainable foundation for peace and stability in areas at risk from terrorism and violent extremism.  U.S. assistance seeks to intensify cooperation through a whole-of-government approach that supports a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific.  The United States has had a Peace Corps program in the Philippines for over 50 years.

Over the last decade, disaster relief and recovery has also become a vital area of assistance to the Philippines.  The U.S. government, through USAID, works year-round to help communities in the Philippines prepare for and respond to natural disasters.  In total, since 2010, USAID has provided more than $342 million in disaster relief and recovery aid and strengthened the disaster risk reduction capacity of over 100 cities and municipalities in the Philippines.  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.  The United States continues to support long-term reconstruction and rebuilding efforts and has allocated over $60 million to support ongoing humanitarian assistance and stabilization funding after the siege of Marawi.

The United States has been the Philippines’ strongest partner in countering the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing nearly $38 million in pandemic-related assistance and providing more than 32 million vaccines through the COVAX facility (out of more than 69 million total vaccines delivered to the Philippines via COVAX) as of March 2022.

Bilateral Economic Relations

The United States and the Philippines have a strong trade and investment relationship, with over $18.9 billion in goods and services traded during 2020.  The Philippines’ third-largest trading partner, the United States is one of the largest foreign investors in the Philippines.

Key imports from the Philippines are 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 two countries have a bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, signed in 1989, and a tax treaty.

Philippines’s Membership in International Organizations

The Philippines and the United States belong to many of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.  The Philippines is also an observer to the Organization of American States.  The Philippines served as chair and host of ASEAN for 2017.  The United States strongly supports Philippine government efforts to fully implement the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, an important multilateral tool to protect Filipino and U.S. children and families.

Bilateral Representation

Principal embassy officials are listed in the Department’s Key Officers List.

The Philippines maintains an embassy  in the United States at 1600 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202-467-9300).

More information about Philippines is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:

CIA World Factbook Philippines Page 
U.S. Embassy
USAID Philippines Page 
History of U.S. Relations With Philippines
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Countries Page 
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics 
Export.gov International Offices Page 
Millennium Challenge Corporation 
Library of Congress Country Studies 
Travel Information

U.S. Department of State

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