The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates are moving closer to realizing their proposed free trade agreement (FTA) as formal talks are expected to conclude at the end of 2024 in time for the 50th anniversary celebration of diplomatic ties between the two countries, according to a Filipino trade official.
Allan Gepty, undersecretary for international trade of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in a recent update said all 16 working groups covering all the chapters and annexes of the Philippines-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (PH-UAE CEPA) have been convened.
Moreover, a number of provisions in the various chapters have been closed and substantial agreement has been made in the areas of eco-tech cooperation, micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs, customs procedure and trade facilitation, competition and consumer protection, and digital trade, Gepty said at the recent Tariff Commission-organized public consultation.
However, local sugar millers and glass manufacturers at the dialog held August 30 called for the exclusion of sugar and glass products from FTA coverage.
In his presentation, Gepty said the Philippines and UAE plan to convene two more rounds with a target to conclude negotiations by the end of 2024. The Philippines will also continue to conduct stakeholder consultations before the eventual signing of the PH-UAE CEPA by yearend as the highlight of the 50th anniversary celebration of Philippine-UAE bilateral relations.
The trade executive added that FTA negotiators will hold the third round of talks on September 16 to September 18.
Meanwhile, in voicing their desire for exclusion of the sugar industry, Philippine Sugar Millers Association executive director Cocoy Barrera requested the Tariff Commission to have sugar, raw and refined, removed from the PH-UAE CEPA talks.
“Although (the) UAE has no agricultural sector to speak of, it has some of the world’s largest sugar refineries. In fact, the two biggest, if I can recall, are Al Khaleej and Emirates. And their procedure is they import raw and export refined to the world markets. So, they can export sugar refined to the Philippines,” Barrera said.
He added that there should be an alignment of policies since the government is spending heavily through the Sugar Exchange Industry Development Act to develop the local industry even as it is also planning to open the market to potential importation.
Similarly, Glass Manufacturers Association of the Philippines associate member Anthony Cabrera expressed the concern of the local producers that UAE glass imports might flood the Philippine market.
Cabrera said the local industry has noticed a big surge of glass products being sent from the UAE to the Philippine market, “which is obviously impacting the dynamics of the local manufacturers and encroaching into our market.”
The PH-UAE CEPA is a proposed FTA which aims to expand trade and investment opportunities with the UAE by expanding the flow of goods and services exports to the UAE and the greater Gulf region, promoting opportunities for investment, and creating more opportunities for Filipino professionals and service providers.
The CEPA with the UAE will operationalize the Philippines’ trade strategy to enter new markets as envisaged in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and the Philippine Export Development Plan 2023-2028.
DTI said the Middle Eastern country is a good market for the Philippines’ halal-related products, tropical fruits, garments, as well as high-end finished consumer goods.
Some of the Filipino food and other agri-based products with unrealized export potential in the UAE include bananas, desiccated coconuts, coconut oil and fractions, pineapples, and raw cane sugar. Also with much potential are personal care products including perfumes and eye makeup.
The UAE is the Philippines’ 18th biggest trading partner and the top export market in the Gulf Cooperation Council. In 2023, total trade between the Philippines and the UAE was value at US$1.88 billion, while exports and imports were valued at $341.97 million and $1.54 billion, respectively, DTI data show.
