Marcos: Free trade deal a 'win-win strategy' for PH, EU

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday called for the support of the European Union-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) and the European Economic Community (EEC) for the resumption of the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the EU. 

According to Marcos, the establishment of a bilateral FTA is a  “win-win strategy” for the two parties, saying it “promises to achieve mutually beneficial economic goals while maintaining consistency with the EU’s core ideals of sustainable development and environment protection as well as with the EU's Indo-Pacific Strategy”.

“Hence, I take this opportunity to call upon our friends from the EU ABC and the ECCP to actively advocate for the resumption of negotiations for this purpose as well as to strive for fair treatment and more beneficial reciprocity,” said the President in his speech during the Joint EU-ASEAN Business Council and European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines gala dinner in Makati.

“As credible voices of the European business community in the Philippines and the region, the EU ABC and ECCP can help move this thing forward all the way to a favorable conclusion. And if and when that happens, it could very well be the capstone of all efforts to strengthen PH-EU relations over the course of the next decades,” he said.

In March, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said the Philippines is eyeing to return to the negotiating table for a possible FTA with the regional bloc.

The exploratory FTA talks between the parties began in 2013, while the launching of negotiations was announced in December 2015.

The first FTA negotiations were held in Brussels, Belgium in 2016, followed by second-round negotiations in Cebu, Philippines in 2017.

Solid enabling environment

Meanwhile, Marcos said the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023 to 2028 is anchored on the “creation of an enabling environment that shall facilitate the attainment of tangible socio-economic goals for our people”.

He also said the administration had already implemented strategies aligned with it including adjustments to the system of corporate taxation, and the implementation of green lanes, among others.

“This solid enabling environment will pave the way for our compliance with vital international obligations as determined by the EU. This condition of compliance will in turn guarantee our continued participation in the generalized system of preferences plus (GSP+) scheme,” said.

“As a result of the GSP+, we are optimistic that we shall soon witness a market growth of our MSME sector and our export market in the EU and also this will encourage further foreign investments in our manufacturing sector,” he added.

The EU GSP+ agreement grants the Philippines zero duties on 6,274 locally-made products, as long as the country meets the requirements regarding human and labor rights, the environment, and good governance.

The Philippines’ participation in the GSP+ is set to expire this year but Pascual, in February, expressed optimism that the European Parliament will decide in favor of renewing the country’s status.—LDF, GMA Integrated News