Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual met with State Secretary Udo Philipp of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz or BMWK) on July 3, 2023 in Berlin, Germany.
The meeting was aimed to strengthen the institutional linkage between the DTI and the BMWK, reinforcing the initial discussions between Secretary Pascual and his German counterpart, Dr. Robert Habeck at the 17th Asia-Pacific Conference (APK) in November 2022 in Singapore.
During the meeting, Secretary Pascual sought the support of the German government in the proposed resumption of the European Union-Philippines Free Trade Agreement (EU-PH FTA) negotiations and the renewal of the EU Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+) grant which is set to expire this year.
He likewise discussed with State Secretary Philipp efforts to continue fostering mutually beneficial trade and investment ties between the Philippines and Germany.
EU’s GSP+ grant to the Philippines allows for tariff-free Philippine-made exports to Germany for at least 6,000 product lines.
Germany’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD4.07 trillion in 2022 makes it the 4th largest economy in the world after the US, China, and Japan; and the largest, most advanced economy in Europe.
For the first half of 2023 and for the first time in at least a decade, Germany led the country’s source of foreign investments. Total approved German investments into the Philippines reached PHP393.27 billion, representing 65% of total approved foreign investments. Netherlands came in second (PHP3.57 billion), followed by Singapore (PHP2.95 billion), France (PHP2.04 billion) and the United States (PHP1.93 billion).
For his part, State Secretary Philipp expressed Germany’s support in restarting the PH-EU FTA negotiations.
