PH nearing free trade agreement with EU
Negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the European Union (EU) may be concluded by June or July this year, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said on Wednesday.
This timeline follows the fifth full round of negotiations held in Brussels from March 2 to March 6.
“By this year we will be able to conclude, hopefully by June or July, the EU FTA,” Roque said at the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Investment Forum. “This will be a game-changer for a lot of the industries in the Philippines.”
In a message to the Inquirer, Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty, who serves as the Philippines’ chief negotiator in the talks, said the fifth full round was “very successful.”
Gepty said “significant progress” had been made on chapters covering sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, legal and institutional matters, government procurement, competition, intellectual property, energy and raw materials, state-owned enterprises and digital trade.
For the sixth full round scheduled for May, Gepty said the focus would shift to market access negotiations for goods, services, investments and government procurement.
Roque said the agreement could be signed by 2027 once negotiations are completed.
EU trade officials earlier said the process would still take time after negotiations conclude, as the final text would have to undergo legal review and be translated into the bloc’s 24 official languages.
“We are doing business in the country. Central to this is our aggressive pursuit of the FTA.” Roque said. This administration will have the most free trade agreements in history.”
Apart from the EU deal, Roque said the Philippines also expects to conclude negotiations and sign a free trade agreement with Chile—the country’s first with a Latin American partner.
