A planned free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the European Union (EU) has been stalled and the two countries will instead focus their cooperation efforts on a preferential trade scheme, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Plus.
Thomas Wiersing, charge d’ affaires of the delegation of the EU to the Philippines, in a press conference last week said the deal is not off the table just yet, but that “ for the moment there is no agreement on the holding of the next round” of the FTA talks.
Wiersing noted the EU takes into account sustainable development and human rights aspects when it looks at trade policy in general.
The biennial GSP report by the EU Commission is expected to be published soon.
The report will cover the 2018-2019 progress of the Philippines in the implementation of 27 international conventions relating to human rights, labor rights, environment and good governance.
“For a couple of years, we have prioritized increased cooperation under the GSP Plus framework,” Wiersing said.
The scheme grants duty-free privileges to around 6,000 product lines.
Wiersing said the EU also takes note that GSP Plus will expire but that there is enough time to resume talks on FTA.
“The two sides will have to agree – for this moment there has not been agreement on the additional round. We are encouraging the process of establishing certain fora where these issues have to be addressed. I would epect that this would be the case,” he added..
Total EU-Philippine trade in the first 11 months of 2019 was stood at 15.1 billion euros, an increase of almost 5 percent compared to the same period of 2018 of 14.4 billion euros.
EU exports to the Philippines are mostly machinery and mechanical products 2.2 billion euros which grew by 8 percent agricultural products, 1.4 billion euros with a growth of 16 percent; and electrical equipment (€1.2 billion) recording a 5 percent growth
EU imports from the Philippines grew by 2 percent to 7.5 billion euros while EU exports to the Philippines grew by 8 percent to 7.5 billion euros. Around 2 billion euros worth of Filipino products enjoyed preferential access to the European market under the GSP Plus.
Increasing imports from the EU is expected to continue in 2020 following the delivery of 32 Airbus A321Neo orders from Cebu Pacific. Cebu Pacific also has a pending order of four ATR-600s that are scheduled to arrive through 2022.
