Pascual Meets With EU Parliamentarians to Push for GSP+

Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual has asked the visiting EU Parliamentarians to support the continued participation of the Philippines in the EU-GSP plus scheme.

Secretary Pascial met with the representatives of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights last February 22. In this meeting, Pascual stressed the significance of the EU GSP+ scheme to strengthen the ongoing trade agreements between the Philippines and the EU.

European Parliament representatives include Isabel Wiseler-Lima from the Group of the European People’s Party, Miguel Urban Crespo from The Left, Ryszard Czarnecki from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Hannah Neumann from The Greens and the European Free Alliance, and Karsten Lucke from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats.

This meeting is one of the DTI’s efforts toward deeper EU-PH trade discourse. The GSP+ is scheduled to expire by the end of 2023. The European Commission created a revised scheme last September 2021 to cater to the necessities of involved countries.

The GSP+ permits the Philippines to have zero tariffs on over 6,274 products of over 66% of all EU tariff lines. A few of the top Philippine GSP+ exports to the EU include, prepared or preserved pineapple, hairdressing equipment, prepared or preserved tuna, vacuum cleaners, and crude coconut oil.

In the meeting, Secretary Pascual highlighted the significance of the GSP+ scheme to EU-PH economic relations. He likewise mentioned how 26% of the exports of the Philippines rely on the EU-GSP+.

“This preferential scheme benefited not just local industries but even foreign investors doing business in the country. He also conveyed how this preferential scheme transformed lives and communities in the Philippines consistent with our efforts to promote socio-economic development,”  said Pascual.

Source: Manila Bulletin