EU presses action on economic reforms
THE EUROPEAN Union has urged the Philippines to pass two key pieces of economic legislation before President Aquino steps down from office next year, as these measures are deemed critical in enhancing the bilateral relations between the two parties.
EU ambassador to the Philippines Guy Ledoux identified these reforms as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), which is aimed at making logistics costs more competitive, and the Fair Competition Act, which is expected to eliminate monopolies, cartels and other unfair business practices that lead to high prices of goods and services.
“We hope that in the future, we can see more economic reforms. There are a number of bills that are very important to open up the Philippine economy. We see the CMTA and Competition bills as [helping make] the Philippine economy more competitive and that would further expand EU-Philippine trade and investment relations,” Ledoux explained on the sidelines of the Europe Day celebration last Friday.
“A lot of work has been done, especially in [the House of Representatives] and the Senate and it’s time to wrap up and go for the vote,” he added.
As it is, total bilateral trade between the EU and the Philippines remains strong, expanding by 16 percent to 12.5 billion Euros as of end-2014.
“This is quite remarkable. If you look back on the last six years, we have nearly doubled the level of trade to reach 12.5 billion Euros and so that is an excellent trend. We hope that will continue along the same line. This year, as we have granted the new generalized system of preferences status, that opens the way for a significant increase in Philippine exports to the EU. We have a good chance to see exports increasing,” Ledoux explained.
The country’s inclusion in the EU GSP+ scheme effective December 2014 allows over 6,200 product lines manufactured or made in the Philippines to be exported to the 28-member bloc at zero duty.
Ledoux said he also wanted to expand the relationship between the two countries to include other vital sectors such as education.
“That’s why we have launched this campaign the ‘EU-Philippines: we inspire each other.’ We have many examples and I think there is a need for Filipino decision makers, business leaders and government officials to be more aware of this expanding relationship between the EU and the Philippines,” Ledoux said. “The highway is wide open for expanding cooperation in every field whether economic, cultural, education, technology, research, or anything.”
