Trade chief to fly to Brussels to bat for PH-EU free trade deal

Jessica Fenol, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The European Union (EU) flag flies in the wind as visitors pass by at the observatory dome of the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany, May 19, 2022. Omer Messinger, EPA-EFE/FILE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/11/14/european-union-(eu)-flag-epa.jpg"/><figcaption>The European Union (EU) flag flies in the wind as visitors pass by at the observatory dome of the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany, May 19, 2022. <em>Omer Messinger, EPA-EFE/FILE</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said on Tuesday he will be in Brussels this month to continue talks on the Philippines&#x27; trade with the European Union and the country&#x27;s bid to have a free trade deal with the EU.</p><p>The Philippines&#x27; access to the EU&#x27;s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) is set to expire at the end of the year. </p><p>Access to the GSP+ allows the duty-free export of some 6,000 eligible products to the EU, subject to compliance with international agreements. In a Palace briefing, Pascual said the country&#x27;s push to become an upper middle-income country may also make it ineligible to keep accessing this preferential trade scheme. </p><p>&quot;Pag naging upper-middle-income country ang Pilipinas, hindi na tayo eligible sa GSP+...Binanggit na rin sa akin yan ng mga parliamentarians na bumisita sa opisina ko. Sabi ko nga kailangan mag umpisa na tayo mag negotiate ng free trade agreement [FTA],&quot; he added.</p><p>(Once we&#x27;re an upper-middle-income country we&#x27;re no longer eligible for the GSP+...This was mentioned to me by the parliamentarians who visited my office. I said we need to initiate the negotiations on a free trade agreement.)</p><p>National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said last year that the Philippines could become an upper-middle-income country by 2024.</p><p>According to the World Bank, an upper-middle-income country has a gross national income (GNI) per capita of between $4,096 and $12,695.</p><p>Economic managers of the previous administration believed the feat could have been achieved earlier if the COVID-19 pandemic did not occur.</p><p>The Philippines meanwhile has sought to establish an FTA with the EU.</p><p>President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr last year <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/12/16/22/eu-open-to-pursuing-free-trade-deal-gsp-discussions-with-philippines-ops">met </a>with the European Council President Ursula Von der Leyen on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union (ASEAN-EU) summit in Belgium. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/01/23/philippines-eu-eye-closer-economic-security-ties">Philippines, EU eye closer economic, security ties</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/07/26/22/philippines-can-become-upper-middle-income-country-by-2024-balisacan">Philippines can become upper-middle-income country by 2024: NEDA chief</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2381914" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual will be in Brussels this month to continue talks on the Philippines' trade with the European Union and its bid for a free trade deal with the EU.

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Trade chief to fly to Brussels to bat for PH-EU free trade deal

Trade chief to fly to Brussels to bat for PH-EU free trade deal

Jessica Fenol,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 06, 2023 02:51 PM PHT

Read More:

FTA

free trade agreement

GSP+

Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus

trade

trade negotiations

DTI

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