The European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines intends to take advantage of the EU-ASEAN business summit (which it is organising on the sidelines of the meeting in Manila on Friday 10 March between European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and the economic affairs/trade ministers of the ASEAN countries) to boost the interest of EU investors in the Philippines.
Filipino newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer reports the president of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, Guenter Taus, saying that this EU-ASEAN business summit is aimed at generating more interest for the Philippines – whose business climate is losing out to other countries in terms of EU investment in the ASEAN.
The Philippines' economy is among the smallest recipients of EU foreign direct investment (FDI) in the ASEAN area, with only €6.66 billion (or 4%) of the €184 billion in FDI to the ASEAN in 2014 going to the Philippines (compared with €102.91 billion going to Singapore).
Taus says that one of the factors explaining why the Philippines is lagging behind its neighbours in the area is the country's current political uncertainty (it has been led by President Rodrigo Duterte since June 2016). Another factor is problems in the supply chain.
Although the country's political uncertainty is far from being solved, Taus notes "a serious push" to help develop the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines, echoing "one of the priorities" of the country's Department of Trade and Industry led by Secretary of State Ramon M. Lopez.
The EU and Philippines launched their negotiations for a free trade agreement in 2016 and an initial round of talks was held in Brussels in May, which enabled the foundations to be laid for a future trade agreement between the two partners (see EUROPE 11567).
The aim is to conclude an agreement that covers a wide range of areas, including tariffs, non-tariff barriers, services, investment, public procurement, intellectual property, competition and sustainable development.
The EU's approach in these talks in based, in most sectors, on the free trade agreements that have already been concluded with two other ASEAN countries – Singapore and Vietnam. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)