THE fifth round of negotiations for the country’s free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union will resume in early March 2026 in Belgium, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Santoro told reporters on Thursday.
“We need to ensure that once the GSP+ (Generalized Scheme of Preference Plus) system is over, we will have an FTA in place for continuity [of arrangements] on products and, of course, amplifying and extending to all goods and services in terms of zero tariff,“ Santoro said.
“Figures for the 2025 full year are not there yet. The growth is particularly encouraging for both sides, [despite] global uncertainties last year and continuing this year, [including] the challenging international trade environment,“ Santoro said, noting that trade value is still below its full potential compared to regional partners.
GSP+ gives developing countries zero-tariff access for over 6,000 products to the EU market, provided they follow 27 international conventions on human rights, labor, environmental protection, and good governance.
Last year, the country’s EU GSP+ utilization exceeded 80 percent. Currently, it is allowed to export 6,274 products at zero duties. The arrangement will expire in 2027.
Previous rounds
The fourth round of FTA talks was held in October 2025 in Cebu.
Negotiations began on Dec. 22, 2015, followed by a second one in February 2017, which were not completed.
In July 2023, the EU and the country took an extensive technical stocktaking exercise to assess if conditions were right to resume the talks.
The talks continued in March 2024.
From January to June 2025, total trade in goods between the country and the EU amounted to €8.3 billion, a 3-percent increase from the same period in 2024.
In 2024, Philippine exports to the EU amounted to $8.1 billion, while imports from the EU totaled $7.5 billion.
The importance of FTA negotiations “is not only about tariff reduction,” Santoro said, pointing out that it also seeks to establish a stable, predictable, rules-based framework for services, investments, intellectual property, digital trade, and sustainability, among others.
“Since the negotiation was launched in 2024, our teams have been making steady progress in text-based discussions. Market access talks are also moving forward. In the timeline, the aim is to conclude as quickly as possible, but without any compromise of substance and for quality for the agreement,“ Santoro said, adding that corruption, legislative reforms and other issues must be addressed to encourage more European investors.
“Again, it‘s about adopting legislation... We are here to continue working together in the same direction,“ he noted.