The European Union (EU) Council has endorsed to the European Parliament the Philippines’s bid for inclusion in the economic bloc’s expanded preferential trade scheme called the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+).
This put the country’s bid to gain the EU’s approval by the end of the year in a better position, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The EU Council announced last week in a news statement that it has no objection to the inclusion of the Philippines on the list of beneficiary-countries for the GSP+ scheme.
“The council decided not to object to a commission regulation adding the Philippines to the list of beneficiary-countries of the EU’s GSP+ system of tariff preferences…. It can now enter into force, unless the European Parliament objects,” the statement read.
“With this development, our application is now headed to the European Parliament for deliberation. We are optimistic that we will get approval from the EU Parliament before the year ends,” Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal said in a statement.
Cristobal urged stakeholders to support the Philippines’s strategy in ensuring the country can maximize the benefits of the EU’s GSP+.
“We have been conducting a series of briefings with stakeholders to provide them information on our application to the GSP+ scheme, as well as assistance on nontariff measures and rules of origin [ROO] issues to capitalize on the full benefits of GSP+. We need to expand our country’s market access and increase investments to further strengthen the emerging sectors of our industry and generate more job opportunities to benefit especially the rural communities,” Cristobal added.
The Philippines officially completed its application process to the GSP+ arrangement in February. The DTI has been working closely with relevant agencies and stakeholders to update them on the status of the Philippines’s application to the GSP+.
The Philippines is currently a beneficiary of the EU GSP. Some 2,442 products from the Philippines can enter the EU market at zero duty, while 3,767 goods are subject to reduced tariffs.
With the inclusion of the Philippines in the EU GSP+ scheme, the Philippines will get to enjoy zero duty for all 6,274 covered products, translating to increase in the country’s exports to the EU, and consequently resulting in more employment opportunities.
The product sectors most likely to benefit from the GSP+ are animal or vegetable fats and oils, prepared foodstuff, textiles and garments, footwear, headwear, umbrellas and chemical products.
Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr., in a speech delivered in the association’s fourth quarter general membership meeting, underscored the significance of the trade scheme to secure wider market access in the EU for the said product sectors, as well as the creation of 267,587 jobs both in the agriculture and manufacturing sector.
Once approved by the EU Parliament, the Philippines will be the only GSP+ beneficiary in Asean.
Walter van Hattum, trade head of the European Delegation here, gave a timeline on the proposal and said in a text message that the Parliament has until December 19 to raise objections to the European Commission’s proposal to grant GSP+ benefits to the Philippines.
“If there will be no objection, GSP+ preferences will be implemented immediately, following publication of the decision in the Official Journal,” van Hattum added.