The European Union (EU) and the Philippines (PH) have agreed on the terms of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a breakthrough more than a decade in the making that now moves to legislators on both sides for final approval.
For businesses on both continents, the agreement’s real weight lies in what it unlocks once ratified: preferential market access, more predictable trade rules, and a broader toolkit covering government procurement, digital trade, intellectual property, and customs facilitation alongside traditional tariff cuts.
European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič and Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque announced the conclusion of negotiations.
The Philippines is only the third country within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) —after Singapore and Vietnam — to conclude a bilateral free trade agreement with the EU.
