THE United Kingdom sees stronger trade relations with the Philippines as the two countries look forward to their 80th year of diplomatic ties.
“The Joint Economic and Trade Committee (Jetco), which was launched [in 2025], is now entering its second year as a government forum. As the business and trade team in the Embassy, we focus on sectors aligned with the UK government’s industrial strategy, which also match Philippine government priorities,” Director for Trade and Investments at British Embassy Manila Iain Frenkiel said on Thursday at the Forecasting 2026: UK-PH Economic Perspectives hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.
Jetco focused on infrastructure, energy and digital services.
Ron Yip, chief negotiator of Asia Partnerships of the UK Department of Business and Trade, shared the optimism.
“We see the Philippines as full of potential, so there is a lot of room for continuing to improve our trade and investment relationships,” he said, noting that Asean-UK relations are in on its fifth year.
“It means that, this year, we are in the position to renew our plan of action with Asean,” Yip added, noting that it will facilitate digital trade, regulatory standards, and small and medium enterprises.
In November 2025, the Philippines formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to boost exports and diversify trade.
CPTPP is one of the world’s largest free-trade agreements, covering a combined population of over 500 million and $13.5 trillion in gross domestic product.
CPTPP is composed of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Member countries’ benefits include liberalized trade, zero tariffs on a wide range of goods and improved investment facilitation.
British companies ranked the fourth-largest investors by nationality, with 75 locator firms, P229 billion in cumulative investments, $1.4 billion in exports and over 82,000 jobs created in 2025, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
In 2025, trade between the UK and the Philippines totaled 3.0 billion pounds, while UK–Asean trade grew by 15 percent in the clean energy, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and digital sectors.
