The Philippines signed its first free-trade agreement in the Middle East, establishing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates that will reduce barriers for goods, services and investment between the countries.
Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Roque and UAE Economy Minister Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi signed the pact in the presence of presidents Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Manila described it as a milestone in its foreign economic policy.
About 95 percent of Philippine exports to the UAE will receive preferential tariff treatment. The government expects benefits for personal-care products, canned tuna and sardines, snacks and condiments, electrical equipment, automotive and aircraft parts, textiles and apparel. Lower duties could help producers expand shipments and increase output.
The agreement also creates more predictable rules for professional services, construction, retail, tourism and the information-technology and business-process-management sector. Philippine officials said that framework should help Filipino service providers expand in the UAE while encouraging Emirati companies to invest in the Philippines.
Its scope extends beyond conventional tariff schedules. The pact includes cooperation on digital trade, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, sustainable development, intellectual-property protection, competition, consumer safeguards, government procurement and technical assistance.
Roque said the government was using strategic trade agreements to move Philippine firms into higher-value markets and more integrated supply chains. The Department of Trade and Industry presented the deal as a stable, rules-based platform for exporters and service companies seeking a larger Middle Eastern presence.
The UAE was already among the Philippines’ leading trading partners and a major Middle Eastern destination for Philippine goods in 2024. Commercial ties are reinforced by a large expatriate community. Philippine Embassy data counted almost one million Filipinos living in the UAE in 2023, working across hospitality, food, engineering, architecture, health care and creative industries.
The signing occurred during Marcos’s one-day working visit to the UAE at the invitation of its president. He also attended an event connected with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, planned business meetings and was scheduled to meet members of the Filipino community. A memorandum on defense cooperation was also due to be signed, separate from the trade pact.
Marcos was the first Philippine president to visit the UAE since Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo traveled there in 2008. The countries established diplomatic relations in 1974, and Manila opened its Abu Dhabi mission in 1980. UAE estimates placed Filipinos as its third-largest expatriate group after Indians and Pakistanis.
The agreement’s immediate achievement is preferential market access and a wider rulebook for cross-border business. Its longer-term impact will depend on implementation: how quickly tariff preferences are used, whether service providers gain customers and whether the investment provisions generate projects in the Philippines.
