EU–Philippines free trade agreement: what changes for exporters?

By Rafael Paulo Krüger · Customs Expert & CEO

The EU and the Philippines reached substantial agreement on an FTA on 22 Sep 2026. What exporters can expect, when it applies and what to prepare now.

A machinery manufacturer from North Rhine-Westphalia has been supplying packaging lines to a food producer near Manila for years. In the last tender it came in just behind a competitor on price, and the buyer also pointed to the Philippine import duty his company has to pay on the German equipment. Now the export manager reads that the EU and the Philippines have agreed on a free trade agreement. Will the duty disappear, and from when? This article sets out what is settled, what is still open and what you can prepare today.

Last updated: 3 October 2026

What has changed?

On 22 September 2026, the EU and the Philippines reached substantial agreement on a free trade agreement (FTA). Politically, the core of the negotiations is done, but they have not yet been formally concluded: both sides intend to finalise the agreement “in the coming months”, including its implementation and the remaining technical details.

According to the European Commission, the agreement is set to:

• remove tariffs on both sides: more than 94% of tariff lines will be liberalised, covering more than 97% of bilateral trade;
• open the Philippine government procurement market to foreign bidders for the first time;
• better protect intellectual property, including almost 200 EU geographical indications;
• set more transparent rules on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade;
• include rules on digital trade and on energy and raw materials;
• contain a chapter on trade and sustainable development.

Negotiations were first launched in 2015, put on hold after 2017 and resumed in March 2024.

When will it apply?

No date has been set yet. Once negotiations are formally concluded, the Commission publishes the agreement and presents it to the Council and the European Parliament. Only if both approve it can the EU conclude the agreement. If it also covers areas for which EU countries are responsible, the member states must ratify it as well. Parts of an agreement can be applied provisionally beforehand if the Council so decides, but usually only after the Parliament has given its consent.

In practice, this means entry into force is still months away on current information. A precise date cannot reliably be given today.

Does this affect me as an exporter?

Yes, if you ship to the Philippines or plan to. The Commission lists machinery and appliances, transport equipment, and medicines and medical devices as the leading EU industrial exports. On the agrifood side, the main exports are pork and poultry, dairy products and spirits. Trade in goods between the EU and the Philippines totalled EUR 17.6 billion in 2025.

What applies to exports until then?

Until the agreement enters into force, nothing changes for your exports:

• Your customer pays the regular Philippine import duty. There is no preferential rate for EU goods yet.
• The Philippines do benefit from the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). However, that is a one-way preference granted by the EU for imports into the EU, not a duty reduction for German goods in the Philippines.
• The export declaration is handled via ATLAS, Germany’s electronic customs system, as for any third country. See our step-by-step guide to the export declaration.

Which data will matter more?

Preferential duty is only available for goods that meet the agreement’s rules of origin and only with a valid proof of origin. Neither has been published yet for the agreement with the Philippines. In any case, the following will matter:

• the correct commodity code, because tariff dismantling and rules of origin depend on it (see Understanding customs tariff codes);
• the origin of your materials, evidenced by supplier’s declarations;
• your costing, to check whether the goods are likely to meet the rules of origin.

Origin statement on the invoice: On current information, the proof of origin is expected to take the form of a statement on origin on the invoice, as in other EU agreements. The exact wording will only be set by the agreement itself. Until it enters into force, do not put a preferential origin statement for the Philippines on your invoices, because there is no preferential duty there yet.

What should my company do now?

• Compile your exports to the Philippines over recent years, with commodity codes and values.
• Check whether you hold supplier’s declarations for your key materials.
• Tell your customers in the Philippines that any preferential benefit will only come once the agreement enters into force, not now.
• After formal conclusion, review the agreement text, the rules of origin and the tariff schedules.

A practical example

The machinery manufacturer from the introduction cannot offer its customer a preferential rate yet. It uses the time to check the commodity codes of its equipment and to request supplier’s declarations from its suppliers. Once the agreement enters into force and the equipment meets the rules of origin, it can issue the proof of origin straight away, and the duty for its customer falls or disappears.

Summary

• The EU and the Philippines reached substantial agreement on an FTA on 22 September 2026; formal conclusion is to follow in the coming months.
• The Council and the European Parliament still have to approve it. There is no date for entry into force.
• Until then, regular Philippine duties apply; the GSP only helps imports into the EU.
• If you clarify commodity codes and origin now, you can use the preference from day one.

Smart Zoll tip: You create the export declarations for your shipments to the Philippines with us online yourself, reviewed by customs experts — even before the agreement applies.

See how it works on our export declaration page.

Sources

• Substantial agreement on EU-Philippines trade deal (IP/26/1929) – European Commission, 22.09.2026, retrieved 02.10.2026
• Joint press statement by Commissioner Šefčovič and Secretary Roque (STATEMENT/26/1922) – European Commission, 22.09.2026, retrieved 02.10.2026
• EU-Philippines Free Trade Agreement – European Commission (DG Trade), retrieved 02.10.2026
• Making trade policy – European Commission (DG Trade), retrieved 02.10.2026
• WuP online – country information Philippines (German) – German Customs, reference date 02.10.2026, retrieved 02.10.2026
• EU deepens trade relations with ASEAN countries (German) – BIHK foreign trade portal, 02.10.2026, retrieved 02.10.2026