EU to strengthen trade ties with Phl

Manila, Philippines - The European Union (EU) has committed to strengthen its trade relations with the Philippines as the country continues to gain headway in its efforts to improve port and Customs procedures, top EU officials said yesterday.

A group of EU ambassadors from 10 member-states visited yesterday the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and were able to witness the port operations of the country’s busiest port with a capacity of 1.5 million containers.

“This visit of EU ambassadors, representing one of our top trading partners, was a good opportunity to showcase how trade works in practice. Through automation we want to make Customs procedures more efficient and business friendly while also increasing integrity. In this respect we also welcome the EU’s continued support to the bureau reform agenda. The bureau is keen to tap international expertise and best practice for key challenges of Customs operations,” Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez said.

For his part, EU ambassador Guy Ledoux noted that the port symbolizes the intensive trade relationship between the EU and the Philippines, “a relationship we hope to expand further.”

ICTSI does not only operate MICP very efficiently it has also won contracts to operate a couple of European ports, showing that FDI is a two-way street. The visit also helped us to appreciate the important role the Bureau of Customs plays in facilitating secure trade with the rest of the world. While challenges remain, many important reform projects have been put on track. The EU is proud to support the bureau in its efforts to become a modern and effective institution fit for the 21st century,” he added.

The EU is ASEAN’s largest export market with exports mounting to 60-billion euro in 2010. The EU has also become the Philippines largest single market over the last five years. In 2010, Philippine exports to the EU expanded over 40 percent to 5.4 billion euro. Electrical and electronic products account for over 60 percent, transport equipment seven percent and garments and textiles three percent. Agricultural exports have been growing in importance, accounting for 14 percent or over 720 million euro.

In 2010. This is largely due to rising exports of coconut oil, (seven percent), fishery products (three percent) and fruit products (two percent).

The EU had supported the BOC with roughly 1.6 million euro or P96 million during the four years of its Trade Related Technical Assistance Program. It was a proud partner in some of the key reform undertakings such as the Risk Management System (as part of e2m-electronic to mobile) or preparing the setting up of the National Single Window to process import clearances through one single online portal to which government agencies are connected.

The EU-Philippine Trade Related Technical Assistance Program is in its second phase (2008-2012) with a total budget of 7.5 million euro (P435 million). It aims at supporting poverty reduction in the Philippines through expanded trade. The project also supported DTI in drawing up its Export Development Plan aiming at doubling exports by 2016 or the Bureau of Fisheries in its efforts to meet international standards on food safety, ensuring continues fish exports 40 million euros in 2009), or the medical laboratories (e.g. NKTI) in getting ISO accredited, an important step to expand on the lucrative medical tourism market.

The latest “Doing Business” report of the World Bank noticed the achievements made by the Bureau of Customs to facilitate trade. Therein the indicator “trading across borders” is the Philippines’ relatively best at rank 61 (2011) up from 68 the year, a top 10 improvement within a year. This was achieved via electronic payments and online submission of declarations, helping both BOC and companies save time and money through the use of modern technology.