Marcos: PH, India working on bilateral preferential trade deal

A bilateral preferential trade agreement is being negotiated between the Philippines and India, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said following his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. 

''We have decided to expedite the work that we are doing to forge a bilateral preferential trade agreement,'' Marcos, who is on a five-day state visit, said during the joint press conference. 

Earlier, Marcos said there is a need to explore more opportunities with India amid the changing geopolitical and economic state in the region. 

Data from the Embassy of India in Manila indicated that as of March 2024, India’s exports to the Philippines stood at $350 million, while imports from the Philippines were valued at $92.3 million. 

This resulted in a positive trade balance of $258 million in favor of India, according to the embassy. 

The major items of export from India to the Philippines include engineering goods; automobile parts and accessories; transmission apparatus; electric transformers; petroleum products; semi-finished products of iron and steel; drugs and pharmaceuticals; organic and inorganic chemicals; electronic goods; plastic and linoleum; rice; bovine meat; oil seeds; tobacco; and groundnuts, among others.

On the other hand, the major items of import from the Philippines include electrical machinery; semiconductors; ores, slag, and ashes; copper; lead; plastics; pearls and precious stones; residue and waste from the food industry; and animal fodder, among others. —VBL, GMA Integrated News