PBBM's openness encourages restart of PH-EU FTA talks – Sweden
Published May 21, 2023 01:19 pm
Sweden, which holds the current presidency at the EU Council, expressed optimism that negotiations for the long-delayed bilateral free deal with the Philippines could finally resume, citing the current Marcos administration’s openness and for “moving in the right direction.”
Visiting Swedish Foreign Trade Minister Johan Forssell told a media roundtable cited that they see opportunities for the resumption of the FTA talks under the Marcos administration. “My overall perspective is that the Philippines is more open for business now than before … opening up also for foreign direct investments, we see positive steps there,” said the Swedish foreign trade minister who met with secretaries of the departments of Trade and Industry, Energy, Defense, and Finance, during his two-day visit here last week. While they support the revised EU Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Plus, Forssell said a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Philippines “must be the ultimate goal.” “I also believe that when the time is right, we should also restart the FTA negotiations between the Philippines and European Union,” said the minister citing potential for both greater trade with both countries by not having to pay tariffs and making it easier to export products and services in both directions. “That must be the ultimate goal,” he said adding that Sweden has always been a supporter of free, open and rules- based trade. In 2020, Swedish exports (mostly machinery, wood, paper products) to the Philippines reached $152 million or 10.5 percent since 2019. The developed EU country also imported $124 million (mostly machinery, food stuff, fish and fruits) from the Philippines or 126.9 percent increase compared to 2019, according to data from the Swedish National Board of Trade. The foreign trade minister explained that the FTA negotiations for both countries have been going on for some years, but they have not been finalized, and perhaps already lost momentum. This time, however, the Swedish official noted, “We believe that the Philippines is moving in the right direction.” He cited “very straightforward dialogue” with the Philippines including human rights issues, one of the kinks raised by the EU against the previous Duterte administration. Human rights is also one of the tenets for an EU trading partner to be granted the unilateral EU-GSP Plus privilege. “With the new president (Marcos), there is a growing understanding in the European Union that this is the right step to take,” he said adding that one objective of his visit is basically to “get a feeling for the interest from the Philippines in having such an FTA.” “We discussed with the Minister of Trade that I think there is absolutely potential for resumption of talks,” he added. The foreign trade minister further said that Sweden is not here for the short-term perspective, but is interested for a very long-term partnership with the Philippines in all areas. There are more than 40 Swedish firms, some of which are the best of Sweden, operating here for decades in the Philippines. While they want the business situation in the Philippines to be as good as possible, Forssell said the overall feedback from Swedish firms here is that the “market is working fine.” “Of course, there are some challenges within bureaucracy for example, and having a long-term perspective that’s what we are saying to our friends in the Philippine government that those things should be addressed and it's in your interest. But from an overall perspective, we see the very strong economic growth, as I’ve said the young population and I think that also makes the Philippines a bit different compared to many other Asian countries,” he said. He said that Sweden can offer efficiency solutions for the bureaucracy, including energy solutions. He said that Swedish firms have wide ranging interest in the Philippines from energy transmission, defense, healthcare, ICT solutions for transportation, and BRT systems, among others. Notably, Forssell’s visit was specific only for the Philippines and his first for Asia as a foreign trade minister, except when he attended a formal meeting in India previously. “This is my first trip for any Asian country. I am not doing a short stop here on my way to some other country, we are here for the Philippines and I will go back home, but, of course I will visit other countries in the future as it is becoming more important from economic perspective, from defense perspective, this is where it is happening, so I will be back,” he said. He further expressed Sweden’s gratefulness for the Philippines’ “steadfast support for Ukraine” in the war waged by Russia. “We are helping Ukraine defend themselves,” he said. Sweden is also applying for NATO membership.
Sweden Foreign Trade Minister Johan Forssell
Visiting Swedish Foreign Trade Minister Johan Forssell told a media roundtable cited that they see opportunities for the resumption of the FTA talks under the Marcos administration. “My overall perspective is that the Philippines is more open for business now than before … opening up also for foreign direct investments, we see positive steps there,” said the Swedish foreign trade minister who met with secretaries of the departments of Trade and Industry, Energy, Defense, and Finance, during his two-day visit here last week. While they support the revised EU Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Plus, Forssell said a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Philippines “must be the ultimate goal.” “I also believe that when the time is right, we should also restart the FTA negotiations between the Philippines and European Union,” said the minister citing potential for both greater trade with both countries by not having to pay tariffs and making it easier to export products and services in both directions. “That must be the ultimate goal,” he said adding that Sweden has always been a supporter of free, open and rules- based trade. In 2020, Swedish exports (mostly machinery, wood, paper products) to the Philippines reached $152 million or 10.5 percent since 2019. The developed EU country also imported $124 million (mostly machinery, food stuff, fish and fruits) from the Philippines or 126.9 percent increase compared to 2019, according to data from the Swedish National Board of Trade. The foreign trade minister explained that the FTA negotiations for both countries have been going on for some years, but they have not been finalized, and perhaps already lost momentum. This time, however, the Swedish official noted, “We believe that the Philippines is moving in the right direction.” He cited “very straightforward dialogue” with the Philippines including human rights issues, one of the kinks raised by the EU against the previous Duterte administration. Human rights is also one of the tenets for an EU trading partner to be granted the unilateral EU-GSP Plus privilege. “With the new president (Marcos), there is a growing understanding in the European Union that this is the right step to take,” he said adding that one objective of his visit is basically to “get a feeling for the interest from the Philippines in having such an FTA.” “We discussed with the Minister of Trade that I think there is absolutely potential for resumption of talks,” he added. The foreign trade minister further said that Sweden is not here for the short-term perspective, but is interested for a very long-term partnership with the Philippines in all areas. There are more than 40 Swedish firms, some of which are the best of Sweden, operating here for decades in the Philippines. While they want the business situation in the Philippines to be as good as possible, Forssell said the overall feedback from Swedish firms here is that the “market is working fine.” “Of course, there are some challenges within bureaucracy for example, and having a long-term perspective that’s what we are saying to our friends in the Philippine government that those things should be addressed and it's in your interest. But from an overall perspective, we see the very strong economic growth, as I’ve said the young population and I think that also makes the Philippines a bit different compared to many other Asian countries,” he said. He said that Sweden can offer efficiency solutions for the bureaucracy, including energy solutions. He said that Swedish firms have wide ranging interest in the Philippines from energy transmission, defense, healthcare, ICT solutions for transportation, and BRT systems, among others. Notably, Forssell’s visit was specific only for the Philippines and his first for Asia as a foreign trade minister, except when he attended a formal meeting in India previously. “This is my first trip for any Asian country. I am not doing a short stop here on my way to some other country, we are here for the Philippines and I will go back home, but, of course I will visit other countries in the future as it is becoming more important from economic perspective, from defense perspective, this is where it is happening, so I will be back,” he said. He further expressed Sweden’s gratefulness for the Philippines’ “steadfast support for Ukraine” in the war waged by Russia. “We are helping Ukraine defend themselves,” he said. Sweden is also applying for NATO membership.