A joint staff working document published by the EU Council on 16 July 2026 assesses the Philippines' performance under the EU's Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance (GSP+) for the period 2023-2025, finding the country generally on a positive trajectory but with persistent enforcement gaps, particularly on human rights, labour rights, and anti-corruption, which must be addressed to maintain its trade preferences.
The document, accompanying the Joint Report to the European Parliament and the Council on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences covering 2023-2025, notes that the Philippines has been a GSP+ beneficiary since 2015. The utilisation rate of the scheme reached 80.4% in 2024, the highest recorded, with an estimated EUR 155 million in tariff exemptions that year. However, EU imports from the Philippines fell from EUR 10.4 billion in 2022 to EUR 8.8 billion in 2024, and GSP+ eligible imports dropped from EUR 3.8 billion to EUR 2.8 billion over the same period.
Positive steps identified include the ratification of ILO Convention No. 81 (Labour Inspection) and the Violence and Harassment Convention No. 190 in 2024, the adoption of a new Human Rights Action Plan in 2024, the creation of a Special Committee on Human Rights Coordination in May 2024, and the handover of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court in March 2025. Persistent concerns highlighted are impunity for extrajudicial killings, red-tagging of activists, pressure on civil society, human rights defenders, and media, low collective bargaining coverage (1.4%), pending anti-discrimination and torture prevention legislation, and corruption in law enforcement and public procurement.
ensuring accountability for abuses in the war on drugs, investigating violence against trade unionists, enhancing environmental coordination, and fully enforcing anti-corruption laws. The assessment concludes that the Philippines broadly meets its GSP+ obligations but must urgently address serious human rights, labour, and governance gaps to retain preferential access.
Philippine exporters benefit from continued tariff preferences but face uncertainty if gaps are not addressed; EU importers relying on Philippine goods may see supply chain disruptions if preferences are suspended; Philippine civil society and human rights defenders gain leverage from EU scrutiny; EU taxpayers and consumers are indirectly affected by trade conditions linked to governance standards. Institutional follow-up: the European Commission and the European Parliament will consider the assessment in future GSP+ monitoring and potential suspension procedures.