Chief negotiator for free trade agreements, Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty, said negotiations are expected to be completed for the Philippines-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by 2026 or earlier than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2027 goal.

“Well hopefully, our target is to finish it by 2026, internally, if we can. In one of the speeches of the President, he wanted us to finish it by 2027. So, we’ll exert all our efforts. Every second counts as the EU is a major source of investments. If we secure an FTA, investments will flood and we hope to sustain that momentum,” Gepty told reporters on the sidelines of the 50th Philippine Business Conference and Expo at the Marriot Hotel on Tuesday.

In March 2024, the EU and the Philippines agreed to resume negotiations for an ambitious, modern, and balanced FTA, with sustainability at its core, confirming the importance of the Indo-Pacific region for the EU’s trade agenda and paving the way for deeper trade ties with the Philippines, a key partner for the EU in the Indo-Pacific.

The EU said the FTA will further strengthen the EU’s strategic engagement with the fast-growing region and the resumption of the FTA negotiations is also in line with 2021’s EU Indo-Pacific Strategy.

“The negotiation is very positive and constructive. I would say that we made good progress in the first round of negotiation. So, I will say that’s a good sign. We also engaged with some organizations in Europe. We met with business groups and an organization in Europe. We met with the EU-ASEAN Business Council and it’s good to know they are also very supportive of the PH-EU FTA negotiations,” he told reporters.

Gepty said the next round of negotiation will be in February 2025 in the Philippines, to be followed by June for the third, and October for the fourth rounds.

“This FTA negotiations, we want to finish this as soon as possible for so many reasons. Number one is that it’s a very important free trade agreement, it’s very comprehensive. EU is a major trading partner, and in fact, there’s still a lot of untapped export potential in the EU market. Based on the study, it’s $8.3 billion and definitely in other areas like services and investments, we can explore more,” he said.

The EU aims for a comprehensive and modern FTA with the Philippines that includes: ambitious market access for goods, services, investment, and government procurement; the removal of obstacles to digital trade and trade in energy and raw materials, thereby supporting the digital and green transitions; swift and effective sanitary and phytosanitary procedures; sustainable food systems; the protection of intellectual property rights including Geographical Indications, and robust and enforceable disciplines on trade and sustainable development: in line with the Commission’s TSD review Communication of June 2022, supporting high levels of protection for workers’ rights, for the environment, and the achievement of ambitious climate goals.