Manila, Aug. 14 -- The Philippine government is working to convince the Trump administration to exempt the Philippine semiconductor industry from the planned 100 percent US tariff on imported chips, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said Thursday.

Speaking at the US - Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business Council meeting in Pasay City, Romualdez described the White House plan as "very disturbing."

"The announcement just came out from the White House, that they were going to do a 100 percent tariff on semiconductors - that is a very, I would say, the least, very disturbing," he said, adding that they are now coordinating with the semiconductor sector, including the US-ASEAN Business Council, the ...