Agreement on EU trade deal with the Philippines
Von der Leyen reports a basic agreement after a phone call with the Philippine President, but some details remain unclear.
BRÜSSEL – The European Union (EU) has reached a political agreement on a free trade deal with the Philippines, according to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The basic agreement was achieved three years after von der Leyen initiated the resumption of trade talks during a visit to the Philippines. This marks another step in the EU's strategy to diversify its trade relationships, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies and China's dominance.
Von der Leyen announced the agreement on social media while in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. A summary of the phone call published on the Commission's website indicated that the EU and the Philippines were "short of concluding the negotiations on a free trade agreement." This suggests that further discussions will be needed to finalize the deal with all the details.
In a separate statement, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Philippine Minister of Trade and Industry Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque said they had reached a "substantial agreement" that would put the deal "on a clear path towards a formal conclusion in the coming months." On Monday, Šefčovič canceled a planned visit to Manila and instead held a video call with Aldeguer-Roque, which the Commission described as "very targeted and productive."
Most negotiation chapters were already completed before von der Leyen's announcement on Tuesday morning (European time). However, talks on public procurement and the EU's proposed Industrial Accelerator Act, which would limit access to contracts in certain sectors with "Made-in-EU" specifications, remain pending.
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