The European Union and the Philippines have reached “substantial agreement” on a free trade deal, bringing into sight the end of negotiations first launched in 2015.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque announced the breakthrough after a video call on September 22.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen went further, posting on X after speaking with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr that the two sides had “just agreed” a deal. EU officials later clarified that the understanding was preliminary and that further negotiations were needed, AP reported.
According to the Commission, the pact would eliminate tariffs on more than 94 per cent of tariff lines, covering over 97 per cent of existing bilateral trade. Goods trade between the two sides reached €17.6 billion in 2025, making the EU the Philippines’ fourth-largest trading partner.
Šefčovič framed the deal in geopolitical terms. He said it “sends a clear signal that the EU is reinforcing its engagement with the Indo-Pacific”.
Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said the agreement was “good news for European farmers”. He pointed to tariff preferences for EU pigmeat exports and protection for almost 200 European geographical indications.
Not everything has been settled though. Talks on public procurement were continuing, complicated by the Commission’s planned Buy European rules for public tenders, which would limit access to some contracts in green and energy-intensive sectors for countries outside the bloc’s network of trade agreements.
Negotiators have been instructed to complete the remaining work “as soon as possible”. The text would then need legal review and approval by member states and the European Parliament before it could take effect.
Manila is under time pressure. The Philippines currently enjoys duty-free access to the EU for more than 6,000 products under the GSP+ preference scheme, which expires in 2027, BusinessWorld reported.
Talks stalled after two rounds in 2017, amid EU concerns over human rights abuses during then-president Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. They were formally relaunched in March 2024, following a visit to Manila by von der Leyen in 2023, and six negotiating rounds have since been held.
The Philippines, a country of about 115 million people, would become the third member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with a bilateral free trade agreement with the EU, after Singapore and Vietnam. Brussels concluded negotiations with Indonesia in September 2025 and is in talks with Thailand and Malaysia, while an EU-ASEAN deal remains a long-term goal.
The agreement forms part of a wider EU drive to diversify trade amid tensions with China, Russia and the United States. The bloc concluded a free trade deal with Australia on March 24 after eight years of negotiations.
