Usapin ng PH, EU sa free trade deal target maipagpatuloy

Usapin ng PH, EU sa free trade deal target maipagpatuloy

March 2, 2023 @ 9:10 AM 3 weeks ago


MANILA, Philippines – Target ng Pilipinas na maipagpatuloy ang usapin sa posibilidad ng free trade agreement (FTA) kasama ang European Union (EU), sinabi ni Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual nitong Miyerkules, Marso 1.

Matatandaan na noong nakaraang linggo ay nagtungo ang mga miyembro ng
European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights (EP DROI) sa tatlong araw na pagbisita sa bansa kung saan sa isinagawang courtesy call kay Pascual ay binanggit nito ang pagnanais na maipagpatuloy ang Generalized System of Preference Plus (GSP+) trade agreement ng Pilipinas sa EU.

Sa ilalim ng EU GSP+ ay binibigyan ang Pilipinas ng zero duties sa 6,274 locally-made products, basta’t matutugunan ng bansa ang mga pamantayan kaugnay sa
human and labor rights, kalikasan at good governance.

“[S]oon, the Philippines will be an upper middle income country, and as an upper middle income country, the Philippines will no longer be eligible for GSP+,” ani Pascual.

“So that opened the discussion for me to bring up what I have been pushing for which is the resumption of our discussion on a full-fledged free trade agreement between the Philippines and EU,“ dagdag pa niya.

Nagsimula ang explanatory talks para sa FTA sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at EU noong 2013 kung saan ang paglulunsad ng negosasyon ay inanunsyo naman Disyembre 2015.

Ang unang FTA negotiations ay idinaos sa Brussels, Belgium noong 2016, sinundan ng ikalawang bugso ng negosasyon sa Cebu noong 2017.

“They were of course receptive to that idea. I explained to them also the benefits that European companies are gaining from this convention,” ani Pascual.

“I had a very productive meeting with the delegation from the EU Parliament. It is a rainbow coalition, contingent, representing a wide range of political parties that have representatives in the EU Parliament,” dagdag niya.

“We talked about the obligations of the Philippines with respect to labor, human rights, environment, and governance. And I explained that it doesn’t require an EU obligation for us to follow the principles that they are looking for… With or without the requirements of the EU, we are observing the principles that they are interested in. I think I got a good feedback from them on my statement,” pagpapatuloy nito. RNT/JGC