PH, France seek deeper trade ties, finalize poultry export deal

The Philippines and France mapped out deeper cooperation in infrastructure, aviation, railways, agriculture, cybersecurity, film, human capital, and tourism at the 11th Joint Economic Committee (JEC) meeting on Tuesday.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty said the projects “basically reflect the strong economic relations of the Philippines with France” and that ties are “very promising… especially as we embark on a deeper and permanent trade relations as we forge the free trade agreements (FTA) with the European Union (EU).”

According to the DTI, France was the Philippines’ 19th trading partner in 2024, with a total trade value of US$1.54 billion, the 20th largest export market. 

The EU and the Philippines resumed FTA negotiations in March 2024 and held further discussions in 2025, aligning with Gepty’s push for “deeper and permanent” trade ties.

On the French side, Magali Cesana, head of Bilateral Affairs at the French Treasury and France’s JEC co-chair, said a pipeline of Philippine projects “could interest French companies,” adding, “we have a lot of work to do to increase our bilateral trade and for it to be as high as it should be.”

France’s development-finance network (AFD/Proparco) has been ramping up support in the Philippines, particularly for clean energy and climate-transition programs, signaling opportunities that align with this push.

Poultry

Also at the 11th JEC, the Philippines and France finalized a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) “regionalization” arrangement, allowing French poultry exports to the Philippines from disease-free zones.

This came after the Philippine government, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), lifted the ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds as well as poultry products from France last March.

French veterinary authorities earlier reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) that all reported cases of HPAI have ended with resolved status and that there were no additional outbreaks after February 4, 2025.

Gepty, DTI undersecretary for International Trade and the Philippines’ co-chair at the 11th JEC, said: “That's the value of having this regular Joint Economic Committee meeting, because this ... serves as a platform by which we can address all these issues and challenges. And maybe to give one accomplishment, for example, in this JEC meeting is that we were able to finalize the HPAI regionalization arrangement, which will basically facilitate now the exportation of poultry products from France to the Philippines, so these are market access issues that we have been addressing in the course of time.”

Corruption

Asked if corruption issues were raised, Cesana said, “Yes, of course it’s a question we discussed… It’s a necessity to fight against corruption, and to create a sound climate business for the attractiveness of the Philippine territory… They didn’t avoid the questions and they were committed… they want to improve the business climate.” 

On the Philippine side, Gepty noted that “corruption is a problem that is not unique to the Philippines… Any issue that would hinder the facilitation of our engagement… we have to discuss that and find solution,” adding that current talks with partners now include “good governance” alongside trade. —KG, GMA Integrated News