UK aims to double PH trade to £6B

The United Kingdom (UK) is reaffirming its strong commitment to free trade by expanding bilateral trade with the Philippines through a more robust trade preference scheme in the export market and other growth-driving sectors.

- BY DEXTER BARRO II

Last year, total trade in goods and services between the UK and the Philippines reached £3 billion, or approximately P219 billion, a three-percent increase from £2.9 billion in 2023.

UK Trade Envoy George Freeman said there is a strong potential that the value of the trade relationship could double within the next three to four years through strategic partnerships.

Freeman said 99 percent of the Philippines’ exports to the UK is tariff-free courtesy of the European nation’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which cuts tariffs and simplifies trade rules to boost trade.