The Trade Department is confident it will pass the annual review of the European Union General System of Preferences+ (EU GSP+) that will allow to country to retain if not expand the current benefits the Philippines enjoys under trade arrangement.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the EU asked the Philippines to provide new data and information that would strengthen Manila’s position as a beneficiary.
“That will be part of the review that will happen on October to December. They will assess how well the beneficiary countries are using the scheme and the impact it has on the economy,” he said.
“We will also present to them how the scheme is beneficial to EU consumers and to investors in the Philippines that export back to Europe, the US and Asia,” he added.
The EU parliament will decide if the Philippines had been consciously adhering to international agreements on labor, human rights and the anti-drugs campaign.
The EU GSP+ is a preferential trade scheme that is in force until 2023. But the arrangement subjects all nine beneficiary countries, including the Philippines, to an annual review.
The Philippines GSP+ utilization rate increased from 71 percent in 2016 to over 91 percent in the first half of 201O. €1.7 billion out of €6.6 billion worth of Philippine exports to the EU are classified as GSP+ shipments.
The Trade Department plans to forge a free trade agreement with the EU before the GSP+ expires in 2023.
“We’re hoping that the preferential scheme will be a suitable platform for the Philippines to graduate to FTA with the EU,” Lopez said.
The GSP+ program allows beneficiary countries to export specific products to the EU duty free. GSP+ gives zero tariff to 6,247 product lines entering the EU market.
EU is the fourth largest export market of the Philippines with over €6 billion worth of annual exports and a 36 percent growth in the first two quarters of 2017.