European businesses are advocating for renewed negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the Philippines on a free trade agreement (FTA), according to Chris Humphrey, executive director of the EU-ASEAN Business Council (ABC). He stressed the importance of establishing the FTA before the Philippines loses benefits from the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+). The EU grants these trade preferences primarily to lower-middle income, lower income, and least developed countries. Humphrey also expressed appreciation for recent visits by high-level officials from the EU, who have been able to see the developments in the Philippines firsthand. The last negotiations for an FTA between the Philippines and the EU occurred in 2017.