MANILA – The Philippines utilized around 80 percent of its trade benefits under the European Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) in 2025, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Santoro said.

“We went around 80 percent. It’s a super high utilization rate by the Philippines of the current GSP+ that we have,” he said during a Stratbase ADRI forum in Makati City.

Santoro expressed hope that a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between Manila and the EU could be concluded this year. “It is ending in 2027. So, this is why I was mentioning before the FTA… that I’m very much hopeful that this is the right year (to conclude),” he said.

The GSP+ program allows the Philippines zero tariffs on nearly 7,000 EU product lines, provided it meets obligations under 27 international conventions covering governance, human rights, and labor standards. The Philippines is currently the only Southeast Asian country benefiting from the scheme.

Citing ongoing negotiations on the FTA, Santoro said “all ingredients so far are pointing in the direction (of concluding the deal this year).” He added that the tariff reductions would strengthen trade relations and benefit both partners.

The EU envoy also noted that developments in the Middle East could reinforce political and economic cooperation between Manila and the EU. “The moment that this current ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues… this becomes challenging not for the bilateral relationship between the EU and the Philippines, but reciprocally for global supplies, for energy-related issues,” he said. “In that case, this could be potentially an additional terrain where to work together between the EU and the Philippines.”