A free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) will expand opportunities for the Philippines especially in services such as business process outsourcing and (knowledge process outsourcing, digital commerce and agri-technology, according to Enunina Mangio, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
In a statement, Mangio said PCCI welcomes the resumption of negotiations on a Philippines-EU FTA, noting once implemented, the deal will bring economic benefits to the country, Mangio expressed optimism the resumption of talks will lead to a meaningful conclusion of the trade negotiations after several years of being stalled due to concerns on intellectual property, human rights violations and compliance with carbon emission standards.
But George Barcelon, PCCI chairman, said Philippine negotiators should be extra cautious in giving in to certain conditionalities imposed by the EU and ensure these are justifiable and fair based on the country’s level of development.
“There are other areas of concern as well, for example, those that impose high carbon emission standards that, for emerging economies, are barriers to attaining a higher level of growth. The EU must be realistic in its expectations of the Philippines. While being able to leverage on our comparative advantages for a Philippines-EU partnership, negotiators must ensure we can comply without having to compromise our development,” Barcelon said.
Mangio said local companies benefitted from the Generalized System Preferences +, a special incentive extended to the Philippines in 2014, which led to an increase of exports to EU.
“While it covered only over 6,000 commodities (or 66 percent of EU tariff lines), our exports rose by 27 percent just one year after we were given that incentive,” Mangio added.
In 2023, the EU was the Philippines fifth largest trading partner with total trade amounting to $16.16 billion or 8.1 percent of total trade, The EU was the sixth export market with $8.37 billion, and the sixth import supplier valued at $7.79 billion.
Total foreign direct investments from EU rose 63 percent from $29.16 billion in 2022 to $63.99 billion in 2023.
The PCCI, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry plans to roll out this year an
information campaign on the various FTAs the Philippines has with other countries including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and this Philippines-EU FTA. Irma Isip
