EU reaches initial free trade deal with Philippines in pivot to Asia

BRUSSELS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The European Union and the Philippines have reached an initial free trade agreement as part of the bloc's broad pivot to Asia, Commissioner for Trade and Economic ⁠Security Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday.

"The key parameters are there, they are approved by the political level and now what it means is that we have to translate these numbers, these key agreements into the legal text," Sefcovic told reporters.

The initial "substantial agreement" would lead to a full deal in coming months, the European Commission said.

The Philippine deal comes as the EU has turned to Asia and more specifically Southeast Asia to find new markets for its goods and services and places to invest in a bid to offset the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

The EU has already reached trade agreements with Vietnam and Indonesia and is in talks with Malaysia and Thailand, the latter being the most advanced, according to Sefcovic.

The deal with the Philippines would eliminate over 94% tariffs on both sides, benefiting EU industrial exports such as machinery, appliances, transport equipment and agrifood exports such as meat, dairy and spirits.

Bilateral trade has room to grow well beyond the €17.6 billion worth of goods and €10.3 billion in services, the EU Commission said.

($1 = 0.8725 euros)

(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Philip Blenkinsop, Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru, Karen Lema in Manila and Bart Meijer in Amsterdam; Editing by John Mair and Andrew Cawthorne)