EU Commission on 22 September 2026 annouced that “the EU and the Philippines reached substantial agreement in their negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), envisaged to deepen economic ties between the EU and another strategic, fast-growing partner in Southeast Asia”: the substantial agreement has been reached. Now we are waiting for the ultimate free trade agreement and its bilateral ratification. The key words of this  substantial agreement whose negotiations, however, need to be finalized, are: Trade facilitations and preferential origin; Protection of intellectual property rights; Sustainability; Energy and raw materials. To support the economic operators, we would share the main points of the relevant customs rules laid down by…