Manila, April 15 -- The Philippines will have a lesser hit from the Trump administration's new tariff policies compared to other countries because of its service-oriented economy, an economist said Tuesday.

"Because of that, I think, the tariff impact on the Philippines will be much lower. But I know you produce semiconductor, which is exempted. So our assessment has been that the tariff rate is going to be much lower and the impact is smaller," ASEAN Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) chief economist Hoe Ee Khor said in a briefing held in Singapore and streamed online.

AMRO forecasts the country to be among the strongest economies in the region for this year and next year, with growth seen at 6.3 percent for both years.

Khor noted t...