EU reaches ‘substantial agreement’ on Philippines trade deal
Por Douglas Busvine, Camille Gijs, Koen Verhelst — Sustainability – POLITICO
BRUSSELS — The European Union has reached political agreement on a trade deal with the Philippines, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a call with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The announcement comes three years after von der Leyen visited the Philippines to pave the way for the relaunch of trade talks and marks the latest milestone in the drive by Brussels to diversify the EU’s commercial ties in response to President Donald Trump’s America-first trade agenda and China’s growing export dominance.
“We just agreed on an [EU-Philippines] free trade deal!” von der Leyen posted on social media from New York, where she is attending the United Nations General Assembly.
But a readout of the call between the two leaders said the EU and the Philippines were only “about to conclude talks on a Free Trade Agreement,” indicating that further negotiations would be needed to finalize the deal.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Philippine Minister for Trade and Industry Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque said in a separate statement that they had reached “substantial agreement” that would set the deal “on a clear path towards its formal conclusion in the coming months.”
“Now the work turns to finishing the job,” Šefčovič told reporters on Tuesday in Brussels. “We have tasked our teams to formally conclude the agreement in the coming months so businesses and people on both sides can start feeling the benefits as soon as possible.”
“Already now, we are keen to promote the deal because Southeast Asia is the region to be in. After Indonesia and now the Philippines, we are making strides with Thailand and engaging intensively with Malaysia,” he added.
News of the breakthrough was welcomed by France, which has in the past been skeptical toward trade deals that have exposed its powerful farming lobby to foreign competition. The EU runs a trade surplus with the Philippines in farm produce.
“This development is good news for our businesses and for our trade,” Trade Minister Nicolas Forissier told POLITICO, adding that France would remain vigilant. “Negotiations are not over, and France will be demanding: we will defend our strategic interests without making concessions on our sensitive sectors.”
Change of plan
There was some confusion on Monday when Šefčovič skipped a planned visit to Manila and instead held what the Commission called “a very focused and productive” video call with Aldeguer-Roque.
While a deal had not been expected during the visit, business representatives had been looking for a political signal that the two sides were ready to wrap up the talks.
Most negotiating chapters had been closed before von der Leyen’s announcement in the early hours of Tuesday, European time, but talks on public procurement were continuing.
Complicating the final stretch is a proposed EU industry law that would restrict access to public procurement in green and energy-intensive sectors for countries without procurement agreements with the bloc.
Pressed on what the “substantial agreement” means, Šefčovič said that “the key parameters are there, they are approved by the political level. Now what it means, that we have to translate these numbers, these key agreements into the legal text.”
He added the European Commission planned to start briefing EU countries and the European Parliament on the terms of the agreement. Capitals will still have to bless the agreement before it can enter into force. The timeline for that is not yet clear.
Bilateral trade between the Philippines and the EU totalled €17.6 billion in goods in 2025 and €10.3 billion in services in 2024, according to the EU executive. In 2025, the EU was the Philippines’ fourth-largest trading partner.
Brussels expects the deal to benefit European automakers, manufacturers and farmers. The Philippines holds significant reserves of critical minerals, including copper, nickel and cobalt.
This article has been updated. Giorgio Leali in Paris contributed reporting.
Fonte: Sustainability – POLITICO
