Joint Statement on UK-Philippines Joint Economic and Trade Committee
On Monday 17 March, the UK and the Philippines held the inaugural Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting.
The Ministerial JETCO reflects a commitment from both governments to upgrade the growing bilateral economic relationship between both countries, including by exploring ways to boost trade and investment, as well as addressing barriers to market access.
The committee was hosted in London by UK Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Douglas Alexander MP, and co-chaired by Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty of the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry.
Minister Alexander and Undersecretary Gepty endorsed a programme of work to advance bilateral cooperation over the next 12-18 months, including government-to-government and government-to-business activity in agreed priority areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, energy, economic development, life sciences, and technology.
Much of this work will be delivered through four Sectoral Working Groups, which will meet annually to facilitate technical policy exchange and project delivery.
Infrastructure
The UK and the Philippines committed to progressing a government-to-government Financing Framework Partnership to support the delivery of national priority infrastructure and development programmes and projects in the Philippines.
The Framework aims to expand access to £5 billion of financing from UK Export Finance (UKEF) and other sources of cooperation, and provide the Philippines with new paths to UK expertise, technology, and comparative advantage.
Both countries agreed to develop a project pipeline through the Infrastructure Sectoral Working Group in anticipation of the establishment of the Framework.
Energy
The UK and the Philippines reflected on the extensive cooperation in the last year between the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Philippines Department of Energy, and the UK Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, supporting the offshore wind development of the Philippines.
Both countries emphasised the importance of the sector, recognising its contribution to economic growth and an inclusive green transition and committed to continue working closely on policy and regulatory engagement in the coming year, driven by cooperation at the Energy Sectoral Working Group.
Agriculture
Minister Alexander and Undersecretary Gepty discussed the benefits of collaboration between the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Philippines Department of Agriculture with a view to safeguarding and expanding market access for agri-food exporters.
They agreed to continue collaboration across issues such as animal disease detection and antimicrobial resistance as well as new opportunities for collaboration on precision breeding and genetics.
They endorsed the role of the Agriculture Sectoral Working Group to drive greater trade and investment in our respective agriculture sectors, including by promoting commercial agriculture opportunities in the Philippines and the UK.
Economic Development
Minister Alexander and Undersecretary Gepty recognised the important role of bilateral trade in furthering economic development in the Philippines and endorsed efforts to improve utilisation of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, which offers Philippine exporters tariff-free access on 92% of products.
They were pleased to note the upcoming launch of an export handbook that details key regulatory compliance requirements, including how to leverage the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme to benefit from preferential tariff rates.
They agreed on activities to further strengthen the business landscape in the Philippines and facilitate investment and digitalisation of trade.
This covers continuing collaboration on regulatory reform initiatives, facilitating business linkages, and capacity building on AI policy frameworks and governance.
Regional collaboration
Minister Alexander and Undersecretary Gepty used the JETCO meeting to discuss the importance of cooperation between the UK and the Philippines in support of regional economic integration.
The UK looks forward to deepening the UK-ASEAN Partnership and working with the Philippines towards its Chairship of ASEAN in 2026.
Trade promotion and investment
Minister Alexander and Undersecretary Gepty concluded discussions by acknowledging the potential for future economic growth and shared prosperity through deepening trade links.
They acknowledged that in 2024, the UK was the largest single investor in the Philippines, driven by investments in renewables.
The Philippines, being one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia last year with around 6% growth, has the capacity to boost trade in sectors where the UK holds significant commercial expertise.
Minister Alexander and Undersecretary Gepty emphasised the importance of delivering real impact from strengthened trade and economic discussions.
They encouraged future trade promotion and investment activities to facilitate more business opportunities in sectors such as technology and infrastructure including energy.
After the JETCO meeting, UK Trade Envoy to the Philippines, George Freeman MP, and Undersecretary Gepty, co-hosted a business briefing in partnership with the UK-ASEAN Business Council to share insights from discussions and seek industry views on priorities for growing the bilateral trade and investment relationship.
Bilateral economic relationship
The Philippines was the UK’s 60th largest trading partner in the end of Q3 2024 accounting for 0.2% of total UK trade.
Total trade in goods and services between the UK and the Philippines in the same period was £2.8 billion.
The new UK-Philippines JETCO adds extra emphasis to the UK’s deepening relationships across the wider Asia Pacific region.
As an ASEAN Dialogue Partner, the UK is committed to further enhancing engagement with the region, through both multilateral and bilateral forums, including those with the Philippines.
The JETCO follows the launch of the UK-Philippines Joint Framework for the Enhanced Partnership – an enhancement of our bilateral relations across foreign policy, economic growth, security and defence cooperation amongst other areas.
