The European Union and the Philippines will launch free-trade negotiations in order to advance “a new era of cooperation,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday.
Talks began in 2015 under then-President Benigno Aquino but were halted two years later by his successor, Rodrigo Duterte, whose deadly drug war damaged diplomatic relations with the West and spurred an international investigation.
“I’m very glad that we have decided to relaunch negotiations for (a) free-trade agreement (FTA),” von der Leyen told reporters at a joint news conference with President Ferdinand Marcos in Manila.
“Our teams will get to work right now on setting the right conditions so that we can get back to the negotiations,” she said, noting an FTA has “huge potential for both of us” in terms of jobs and growth.
The European Union is the Philippines’ fourth-largest trading partner and a FTA would be Manila’s second bilateral deal after Japan.
Marcos described the Philippines and European Union as “like-minded partners” with “shared values of democracy, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, the rule of law, peace and stability, and human rights”.
The Philippines now has Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status, which permits it to export 6,274 tax-free products to the European Union, although this is slated to expire at the end of this year.
In exchange for implementing 27 international treaties on human rights, labor rights, the environment, and good governance, Brussels reduces its import tariffs to zero on two-thirds of product categories via the GSP+ system, which is extended to underdeveloped nations.
Due to Duterte’s anti-narcotics onslaught, which has claimed thousands of deaths, rights monitors and several EU members of parliament have urged the European Union to postpone a contract renewal for the Philippines.
Even though Marcos has emphasized a stronger emphasis on rehabilitation, a local monitoring group estimates that more than 350 individuals have died since he took control in June 2022.
Von der Leyen, the first head of the European Commission to visit the Philippines, stated that the two countries had “learned the hard way the cost of economic dependence.”
A free-trade agreement served as the foundation for diversifying supply lines and may also serve as a “springboard for new technology cooperation to modernize the broader economy.”
She stated that the European Union would offer the Philippines with 466 million euros ($513 million) to assist in the development of “green energy” and plastics recycling, as well as satellite data to assist in better preparing for harsh weather.
It also wanted to help develop the Philippines’ mining industry to secure the supply of critical raw materials.
“We have a broad roadmap to bring our partnership to the next level,” von der Leyen said.
