Philippines, EU to tackle labor, environment, procurement in next FTA talks

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the European Union (EU) resumed negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) last week, with the parties considering the inclusion of labor and environmental standards, as well as government procurement in the deal.

The next round of talks are expected to be held in February next year.

Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty said in a Viber message to The STAR that FTA talks between the Philippines and the EU, which resumed in Brussels last week after being on hold since 2017, were “very positive and constructive.”

There are many elements being considered in the FTA that are not usually present under our existing FTAs such as labor, environment, good governance and government procurement,he said.

At present, compliance to international conventions on labor, environmental protection and good governance is a requirement for beneficiary countries of the EU Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+).

Our policy direction is also aligned with these elements, Gepty said.

Under the EU GSP+, beneficiary countries like the Philippines can export 6,274 products at zero duty to the bloc.

Gepty said business organizations he met in Europe last week such as Business Europe and EU-ASEAN Business Council have expressed strong support for the FTA negotiations.

“This is a good indication especially as we move for an optimum engagement with the EU not only in trade in goods, but also in services and investments,” he said.

In terms of services, he said the Philippines aim is to establish an enabling environment for service suppliers especially professionals so they can be given more opportunities in Europe.

“This includes financial services, IT-BPM (information technology-business process management) sector, accounting services, auditing and bookeeping services, engineering services, among others,” he said.

He said both the Philippines and the EU want to conclude the FTA negotiations at the soonest possible time.

Earlier, he said the Philippines’ target is to complete the FTA negotiations by 2027.

While the next round of FTA talks will be held in February 2025, he said the parties have agreed to hold inter-sessional meetings virtually.

Prior to the resumption of FTA talks last week, there had been two rounds of negotiations for the trade deal between the Philippines and the EU, with the first held in 2016 and the second in 2017.

For now, Gepty said it is important to sustain the positive momentum of the parties’ trade relations.