The Philippine government seeks to resolve the international arbitration case with operators of the Malampaya gas platform led by Royal Dutch Shell plc.
The European Commission will push for robust provisions on trade and investment in energy and raw materials in a free trade agreement with the Philippines
The Philippine government is hoping the EU-Philippines FTA wil facilitate more tuna exports to the EU, but the industry is riddled with issues of low wages, unfair labor practices, poor and slave-like working conditions.
The Philippines has a web of investment treaties which severely constrain the government's ability to regulate or close polluting mines, a legal straitjacket that will become even tighter if the EU–Philippines Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) proceed
Philippine trade negotiators meet their DG Trade counterparts for a first round of trade talks, five months after they were announced, but nobody expects a cakewalk.
The Philippines will put forward its interests on agriculture sector during the renegotiation of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA).