President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to Washington for a three-day official visit where he will meet US President Donald Trump to discuss economic and security issues.

The main agenda when the two leaders will meet is for Marcos to seek lower tariffs for Philippine exports to the US. Trump announced a higher proposed tariff of 20 percent to take effect on August 1 from an earlier 17 percent.

The current tariff rate by the US is 10 percent.

"We will see how much progress we can make when it comes to the negotiations with the United States concerning the changes that we would like to institute so as to be able to alleviate the effects of a very severe tariff schedule on the Philippines," Marcos said in his pre-departure speech at the Villamor Airbase on Sunday.

He said the economic team led by Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go is in the US to prepare the groundwork for his talks with Trump.

"I intend to convey to President Trump and his Cabinet officials that the Philippines is ready to negotiate a bilateral trade deal that will ensure strong, mutually beneficial and future-oriented collaborations that only the United States and the Philippines will be able to take advantage of," Marcos said.

In a letter to Marcos on July 9, Trump said the tariff on Philippine goods entering the US market will be raised from 10 percent to 20 percent to eliminate their "trade deficit disparity" with the Philippines.

Marcos said he will also talk about security and defense with Trump, which will serve as a continuation of the previous bilateral meetings between the two countries.

Marcos is the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations state leader, who was invited by Trump for a meeting in Washington .

Marcos assigned Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III will serve as caretakers of the government.

"The order of the President is to continue the work while he's away. Anyway, we keep in constant communication with him during all the time that he is away from the country," Bersamin told reporters in an interview at the Villamor Airbase.

Bersamin said the chief executive has been busy in determining the content for his State of the Nations Address, which he said may include the outcome of his trip to the US. DMS