The Department of Trade and Industry is moving aggressively to have a more strategic trade and investment relations with Europe with the expected signing of agreements within the year.

In a meeting with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) earlier this month, Hade Assistant Secretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo reported that an interagency meeting took place to prepare for the next round of  "scoping discussions" with the European Union.

The Philippines, according to a report by the ECCP has the "ambition to come to an agreement [on scoping] by the end of this year."

The signing of such an agreement will pave the way for possible negotiations for a free trade agreement between the Philippines and the European Union.

Rodolfo also disclosed that a joint cooperation agreement with the European Free Trade Association (Efta) "would be signed shortly to kick­start formal negotiation" for a separate free trade agreement.

Efta is comprised of four European economies namely Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

While these states were reportedly not big markets compared to the Philippines' other existing partners in Europe, the said four countries are considered "rich markets" particularly for niche and high-end products. The country's main interest was to attract their investments as these Efta countries have large corporations that can bring in their technological know­how, as well as capital to invest in Philippine industries and local economy.

In the Asia Pacific, Efta has existing free trade agreements with Hong Kong, China, Republic of Korea and Singapore, and is currently negotiating with India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Efta countries have also signed either joint declarations on cooperation or dialogues on closer trade relations with Mongolia, Myanmar; Pakistan and Thailand.

The Philippines is also currently awaiting the approval of its application for the ELTs new Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme or the GSP, which is expected to boost the country's exports to the EU by as much as 611 million euros or almost P36 billion.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22 April 2014