EU and Philippines reach substantial agreement on free trade

22.09.2026, 23:45◉ 02 min readEditorial team “SHCHO STALOSIA”

The European Union and the Philippines announced the achievement of a substantial agreement in the negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement. — Ukrinform.

EU and Philippines reach substantial agreement on free trade

The EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič, and the Secretary of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, Maria Cristina, announced that they had reached the finish line of the negotiation process following the results of the videoconference. Aldeger Roque, Ukrinform reports with reference to the press service of the European Commission.

The parties expect to finalize and agree on the technical details of the agreement in the coming months.

Among the main provisions of the trade agreement is the liberalization of trade, namely the abolition of tariffs on more than 94% of lines covering more than 97% of the bilateral trade flow.

The main export items from the EU are mechanical engineering, transport equipment, medicines, as well as agricultural products, including meat, dairy products and alcohol.

Details

The agreement contains obligations to respect human rights, the Paris Climate Agreement, and will also lay down rules to support investment in renewable energy and raw materials.

Context

The agreement should open up new opportunities for exporters, investors and service providers on both sides. In 2025, bilateral trade in goods between the EU and the Philippines reached 17.6 billion euros, and trade in services for 2024 reached 10.3 billion euros.

The Philippines will also open its public procurement market to foreign players for the first time in history.

What's next

A breakthrough in trade negotiations took place immediately after the conclusion of the Partners for Multilateralism Summit.