Philippines, EU to hold FTA talks this month

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January 6, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the European Union (EU) are set to hold a small round of talks for their free trade agreement (FTA) this January, covering only certain chapters of the deal, according to a trade official.

“For the EU, we have a small round this January,” Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty told The STAR.

He said it is considered a small round because it would only cover a few chapters of the FTA.

After the talks this month, he said a full round of FTA negotiations with the EU is expected to take place on March 2 to 6.

He also said the Philippines and the EU are still aiming to conclude FTA talks “this year.”

The Philippines and the EU conducted the last round of FTA talks in Cebu in October last year.

During that round, the negotiations covered the following chapters: mutual administrative assistance on customs matters; trade and sustainable development; trade in goods; services and investment; digital trade; intellectual property; competition; rules of origin; government procurement; technical barriers to trade; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; state-owned enterprises; trade remedies; energy and raw materials; dispute settlement; exceptions; initial provisions and institutional provisions.

Gepty said the parties also started discussions on market access for goods, services and investments, including modalities for government procurement.

Prior to the FTA talks in October last year, there have been three rounds of FTA talks since the Philippines and the EU announced the resumption of negotiations in March 2024.

FTA talks with the EU started in 2016 and continued in 2017, but were later put on hold due to the EU’s concerns on the previous administration’s war on drugs.

At present, the Philippines is a beneficiary of the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus, allowing the country to export 6,274 products at zero duty to the bloc.

Last month, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said the Philippine government hopes to sign the FTA being negotiated with the EU this year, in line with its push to enter more free trade deals to diversify its export markets.

Earlier, EU Ambassador Massimo Santoro said both parties want to move quickly on the FTA citing global headwinds, including protectionist policies.