UK Poised for Trade Talks With Philippines After Beef Ban Lifted

(Bloomberg) -- The UK is set to begin trade talks with the Philippines after the Asian nation agreed to lift an import ban on British beef and poultry products.

Trade Minister Douglas Alexander is due to meet with Philippine Undersecretary Allan Gepty in London on Monday to kick-start a dialog on deepening the two nations’ trading ties, which are worth some £2.8 billion ($3.6 billion) annually, the UK’s Department for Business and Trade said in a statement. They aim to focus on infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture and technology, it said.

The rapprochement comes after the Philippines agreed to drop its import ban on UK beef, which was prompted by the discovery on a British farm last year of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy — also known as mad cow disease. Along with a decision to lift its ban on poultry imports due to a case of bird flu, the move is estimated to be worth £80 million to the UK’s meat industry over five years.

“Today’s talks signify an important new chapter in our trading relationship with the Philippines, one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies,” Alexander said in the statement. “Showing that the UK is open for business in Asia is vital” for this government’s efforts to spur economic growth, he said.

The dialog is the latest in a series of talks started up by the trade department since Labour swept to power last July. While the US remains the UK’s largest single-country trading partner, protectionist tariffs levied by President Donald Trump have forced Keir Starmer’s government to look at broadening relationships further afield with the likes of China, South Korea and Malaysia. 

Britain is also pursuing a post-Brexit reset with the European Union, and is in talks with Trump’s administration to agree a “new economic deal.”

Alexander and Gepty will also discuss proposals for up to £5 billion of financing from UK Export Finance — a government body which helps British exporters — to help supply sustainable public infrastructure in the Philippines.

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