AGRICULTURE remains the main obstacle preventing the Philippines from concluding free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union (EU) and Chile, prompting both sides to continue discussions despite missing earlier targets to wrap up the talks by midyear.
Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said negotiators have resolved most outstanding issues in the proposed Philippines-EU FTA, leaving only one or two matters that are still under discussion, largely involving agriculture.
‘There’s still that needs to be ironed out, but we’ve already come up with a compromise on what to do. We can’t still say it because it’s confidential, but it’s in agriculture,’ Roque told reporters.
She said both the Philippines and the EU remain committed to completing the negotiations because the agreement would benefit both parties.
‘We keep on talking, even on my level, because both the EU and the Philippines want to conclude this,’ she said.
The Philippines had initially hoped to conclude the negotiations by June or July this year, but Roque acknowledged that discussions have reached ‘a bit of a deadlock’ on the remaining issues.
The trade chief said that her agency is coordinating closely with the Department of Agriculture as negotiations continue. ‘There are only [one or two] issues left to talk about. The other issues have already reached an agreement,’ she said.
Further, Roque said there is no new timetable for concluding the negotiations, although the government continues to target completion within the year and signing of the agreement in 2027.
‘We definitely want to finish the talks this year. The goal is still to conclude this year and sign it next year,’ she said.
The EU was the Philippines’ fourth-largest trading partner in 2025, with bilateral goods trade reaching pound 17.6 billion (or $20.13 billion), according to EU data.
If concluded, the EU FTA would become the Philippines’ largest and most comprehensive trade deal, providing permanent access to the EU’s nearly 450 million consumers and one of the world’s largest trading markets.
Apart from agriculture, Roque said negotiators are also working on provisions covering government procurement, which she described as a new feature for the Philippines in an FTA.
‘It is our first time to have any FTA that had government procurement,’ she said.
Roque added that both sides have agreed to implement the commitments in phases, while the technical details are being finalized by negotiators led by Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty.
She said agriculture is likewise among the remaining issues in the proposed Philippines-Chile FTA. ‘We still have some areas that have some [issues]…but we also discussed them on my level,’ she said.
Roque said both governments are pushing to conclude the negotiations because the agreement would expand Philippine access to South American markets while opening opportunities for Chile.
‘That will open the South American market for us. We want that. They also want that,’ she said.
Based on the 2023 World Bank data, Chile’s 2023 product exports to the Philippines were dominated by minerals, at $204 million, with much smaller shipments in animal products and food products.
Asked which of the Philippines’ ongoing FTA negotiations could be completed first, Roque declined to identify a frontrunner. ‘I don’t know….One after the other,’ she said.