EU Council backs Philippines' GSP+ extension, says DTI chief --- Ian Laqui - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — The European Union and the European Council is supportive of a four-year extension on the eligibility of the Philippines in the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (EU GSP+) trade mechanism, Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual said on Wednesday. Pascual said that the EU Parliament has expressed their support for the proposal of the European Commission to extend the trading scheme eligibility of the country until the year 2027. "The report I got yesterday was that the proposal of the European Commission for the rollover of the existing GSP+ for another four years has been supported by the EU parliament and the European Council," Pascual said during the "2023 Pilipinas Conference" hosted by think-tank Startbase ADR Institute on Wednesday. "That's good news for us, we have at least four more years. Very important for our tuna exporters and producers of certain manufactured products," he added. This was also confirmed by EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron in an ambush interview with reporters. "We (are) genuinely very happy with the data of the Philippine government on the monitoring of the GSP+ and we hope that it will continue that way," he said. According to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, exports from the Philippines to the EU amounted to $752.42 million while imports from the EU totaled $581.18 million. The EU GSP+ deal, scheduled to expire by December 2023, provides the Philippines with tariff-free access for 6,274 domestically produced items, contingent upon the nation fulfilling stipulations related to labor standards, human rights, environmental practices, and effective governance. However, the EU has been met with criticisms by human rights groups like the Human Rights Watch, saying that the council has tolerated the human rights abuses under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte. "Human Rights Watch believes serious abuses committed by some of the GSP beneficiaries, including the Philippines, despite the GSP's human rights conditionality, highlight the need for a reform of the scheme to make it more transparent, predictable, and impactful," it said. In February 2022, the EU Parliament considered removing some trade privileges of the Philippines if the alleged human rights abuses under Duterte were not addressed at that time. "Calls on the Commission to set clear, public, time-bound benchmarks for the Philippines to comply with its human rights obligations under the GSP+ scheme and strongly reiterates its call on the Commission to immediately initiate the procedure which could lead to the temporary withdrawal of GSP+ preferences if there is no substantial improvement and willingness to cooperate on the part of the Philippine authorities," EU Parliament's joint resolution read.

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