Ursula von der Leyen confirmed recently, during a visit to Manila by the European Commission president, that negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and the Philippines have resumed.
Confederation of Wearables Exporters of the Philippines predicts that exports of apparel, textiles footwear, and travel bags will surge to Europe due to the ongoing negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the EU.
Once the FTA is in force, the industry can export goods of $900-$1billion to the European markets alone within three to four year.
Maritess Agoncillo (Director of CONWEP) said at a DTI press conference in Makati City that once the EU-Philippines FTA is in force, the sector will be able to export goods valued between $900 and $1 billion to the European Market alone within three or four years.
Now, the US market is valued at $900,000,000.
Jocson Agoncillo said that within the first 3 years after FTA is implemented, jobs could increase by between 100,000-200,000. This was reported by a Philippine media agency. Over 260,000 workers are currently employed by the sector.
“The surge will be coming from us —the garments sector, manufacturing (of) shoes and bags— simply because we have a limited access at the moment because of the GSP [Generalised Scheme of Preferences] restrictions on the rules of origin,” she was quoted as saying.
Even with EU GSP+, Philippine wearables that are shipped to the EU still have to pay a 12 percent duty due to rules of origin as per the Multifibre Arrangement(MFA) under the World Trade Organisation.
In its discussions with the EU, the Philippines wants to liberalise the rules of origin on its clothing and wearables.
Alfredo Pascual is the DTI secretary. Alfredo Pascual wants to start the scoping talks for a FTA with EU by September, and to finish them before the year ends to be able to have formal discussions next year.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk