Access to medicine expected to improve with PHL-EU trade deal

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES’ proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) is expected to expand access to medicine and help stabilize prices, according to the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

“The impact of the EU free trade agreement definitely is more and faster access to medicines,” ECCP President Diana M. Edralin said in an interview on the  Money Talks with Cathy Yang program on One News on Monday. 

Once implemented, the EU FTA provides a ‘reliance pathway’ that could shorten the approval time for a drug or medical device to enter the Philippines, she said.

A reliance pathway seeks to ensure that a drug, vaccine or a medical device approved in the European Medicines Agency should also be made available in the Philippines over a shorter timeframe.

At present, it takes about one to three years before a drug or medical device is allowed to enter the Philippines, Ms. Edralin said. 

“That’s a significant delay considering how many innovative and life-changing medicines there are already available globally, especially in Europe,” she noted.

The need for affordable and accessible medicine is plagued by logistics and supply chain risk in the face of the fighting in the Middle East, threatening to drive up medicine prices.

“The price increase (in medicines) is not necessarily because of the production or manufacturing. It is because of the logistics, and that is the biggest risk,” Ms. Edralin said.

She added that an EU FTA will also help ensure that the products become more affordable in the Philippines.

Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque said the Philippines is looking to complete negotiations for an EU FTA in June or July, with signing expected for next year.

“We’re still hoping to sign it this year,” she told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Monday.

The Philippines and the EU’s trade relationship is currently anchored on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which allows the duty-free entry of over 6,000 products. With GSP+ set to expire in 2027, both parties are looking to fast-track FTA talks to avoid trade disruptions.

Ms. Edralin noted that an FTA with the EU would help ensure predictability in the Philippines’ trade relationship with EU countries.

“The GSP+ right now is like a VIP pass. But an EU FTA actually gives the predictability in terms of how this partnership will look like over the longer term,” she said.

The EU was the Philippines’ fifth-largest trading partner last year, with two-way trade of $18.10 billion in 2025.