The EFTA States and the Philippines hold their first Joint Committee meeting

Ms Karin Büchel, Minister at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, acted as the EFTA spokesperson, while Dr Ceferino S. Rodolfo, Undersecretary at the Department of Trade and Industry, headed the Philippines delegation.

The Joint Committee discussed the operation of the Agreement, focusing on trade in goods, trade and sustainable development and technical cooperation. The Joint Committee adopted one decision, establishing the rules of procedure of the Joint Committee.

The Joint Committee meeting was preceded by the first meeting of the Sub-Committee on Trade in Goods, where experts discussed inter alia the annex on rules of origin, the exchange of preference utilisation data, market access and trade facilitation.

See the Joint Committee agenda here.

EFTA’s full report of the meeting is available here.

Economic relations between the EFTA States and the Philippines

In 2021, the EFTA States exported goods worth more than USD 364 million to the Philippines. Pharmaceutical products, electrical machinery and clocks and watches were the most important exports. In return, EFTA’s imports from the Philippines amounted to approximately USD 287 million and were mainly composed of electrical machinery and mechanical appliances.

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and the Philippines here.