As the Philippines and the European Union (EU) resume negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) advised the country's representative negotiators to exercise caution in order to ensure fair and justifiable conditions are met.

In a statement released on Wednesday, April 3, PCCI Chairman George T. Barcelon stressed that the conditionalities imposed by the EU should be based on the country's level of development.

“There are other areas of concern as well, for example, those that impose high carbon emission standards that, for emerging economies, are barriers to attaining a higher level of growth," he explained.

"The EU must be realistic in its expectations of the Philippines. While being able to leverage on our comparative advantages for a PH-EU partnership, our negotiators must ensure we can comply without having to compromise our development,” Barcelon said.

The initial talks for the EU FTA began in 2015 up to 2017, but were paused due to the EU's concerns regarding intellectual property (IP), human rights violations, and carbon emissions standards compliance.

The revival of the FTA negotiations was officially announced on March 18 by Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual and European Commission Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis during a press briefing in Brussels, Belgium. 

Despite erring on the side of caution, the PCCI said it is optimistic that the resumption of negotiations will "lead to a meaningful conclusion of the trade negotiations."

“The PCCI welcomes the resumption of the PH-EU FTA talks. The FTA should be able to expand on opportunities, especially in services such as BPO and KPO (knowledge process outsourcing), digital commerce and agri-technology,” said PCCI President Enunina V. Mangio.

It noted that the potential FTA will "bring more market and investment opportunities for both countries."

The country currently enjoys the benefits of the EU-Generalized System of Preference (GSP)+ agreement, launched in 2014, that gives zero duty incentives to select Philippine exports.  

“While it covered only over 6000 commodities (or 66 percent of EU tariff lines), our exports rose by 27 percent just one year after we were given that incentive,” Mangio added.

In 2023, the EU was the country's fifth largest trading partner with $16.16 billion, marking a share of 8.1 percent of total trade in the Philippines. It is also the sixth export market with $8.37 billion and sixth import supplier with $7.79 billion of the country last year.

In terms of foreign direct investments (FDIs), the EU has contributed $63.99 billion FDIs to the Philippines in 2023.

Aside from the PCCI, the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) and German Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (GCCP) also lauded the move, citing the potential expansion and growth of businesses for all parties.