RP, European officials meet to fine-tune framework pact
BusinessWorld, Manila
RP, European officials meet to fine-tune framework pact
By Jessica Anne D. Hermosa
6 October 2009
Officials representing the Philippines and European Union will meet today to discuss a revised draft of a framework agreement that will govern the two economies’ relations which will pave the way for a free trade deal.
A team of European Commission (EC) delegates will return to Manila today for a second round of formal talks scheduled until Wednesday in a bid to forge a partnership and cooperation agreement (PCA), said Gabriel Munuera Vinals, head of the economic, political and public affairs division of the EC delegation to the Philippines.
The Western economic bloc requires that a PCA be laid down with another country before forging a free trade deal, something the Philippines is eyeing, as a regional effort to broker one is facing delays due to the EU’s criticism of Myanmar’s poor human rights record.
The PCA will cover a broad range of issues such as trade and investment facilitation, development cooperation, energy security, and the protection of human and intellectual property rights.
The PCA’s wide coverage has been seen as making it more difficult to forge a free trade deal with the EU than with other blocs or countries, since the latter kind of pact deals primarily with market access.
"Both parties have exchanged revised drafts, which the parties will be discussing during the second round," Mr. Munuera said without elaborating in an e-mail late last week.
The EC delegation had said it may go ahead and negotiate bilateral free trade pacts with individual Southeast Asian countries that already have PCAs, instead of waiting for all Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) members for a regional trade deal.
"[We hope to conclude talks] as soon as possible. A PCA has been signed with Indonesia, negotiations are quite advanced with Thailand and Singapore, and ongoing with Vietnam," wrote Mr. Munuera.
Philippine Foreign Affairs department officials could not be immediately reached to comment.
Trade department officials, however, had said that the Philippines is looking into a bilateral trade deal after noting that negotiations for one between the ASEAN and the EU have been stalled.
But before a trade pact can be pursued, sticking points in the PCA will have to ironed out first. There were disagreements on commitments to human rights and copyright protection in earlier talks, Philippine officials had said.
The EU was the Philippines’ second largest export market last year after China, accounting for $8.487 billion or 17.3% of total export sales, central bank data show.
The Philippines’ top merchandise exports to EU countries include agricultural produce, machinery, and garments, according to the EC Web site.
