Philippines secured GSP+ accreditation

Good News for Filipino exporters!

The European Union (EU) has given its go signal to the Philippines’ application to qualify for its General System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) scheme during a plenary meeting held in Brussels, Belgium last December 18, 2014.

By being qualified for the GSP+ scheme, the Philippines can now enjoy zero duty for 6,274 products entering the EU market. The approval, which took effect in 25 December 2014, is good for a period of 10 years.

Earlier, the country was a beneficiary of the regular GSP program which covers 6,209 products, with 2,442 products subject to zero duty and the rest slapped with lower tariffs.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Gregory L. Domingo said the GSP+ would allow the country to increase its exports to the EU
by EUR 611.8M and create more than 200,000 new jobs in the first three years of implementation of the program. “We believe the EU GSP+ is really a game changer. It will strengthen our rehabilitation efforts and inclusive growth agenda,” Domingo added.

He said the approved application boosts the country’s goal to become a manufacturing base in Southeast Asia as it is the only country in the
region granted the GSP+ status.

Source: DTI, Dataline Vol 20 No.1