Swedish minister bullish on long-term trade ties
JOHAN FORSSELL blushed when he was told he looked like James Bond-remington Steele starrer Pierce Brosnan after the press conference last Thursday.
Or perhaps, his complexion was not used to the 30°-Celsius midafternoon humidity of Manila...
But the 45-year old Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation of Sweden—a seasoned politician that he is—was quick to turn around the compliment.
“You know, every day, I am always reminded of the Philippines with a smile on my face,” Forssell beamed. “Whenever I bring my daughter to school, she is always greeted by her teacher—a Filipina. Her name is Rose.”
Visit in the Philippines
UNLIKE other foreign dignitaries who came to the Philippines on a swing trip from other Asian countries, Forssell flew more than 9,000 kilometers last week from his nation in Scandinavia.
Just seven months into office as trade minister, he said Manila was his second in Asia that he visited. The first was in India a few months ago for a trade mission.
“There is a growing interest for Swedish investments in the Philippines,” he confirmed. “We are not talking about next year, but in the next 10, 15, 20, 30 years.”
He cited the “underlying economic growth” and the young Filipino population as one of the main attractions for investments in the country.
During his stay, the minister met his counterpart, Trade Secretary Federico Pascual. He also interfaced with other key members of the Marcos cabinet: Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, and Socioeconomic Planning chief Arsenio Balisacan.
Aside from furniture giant IKEA, other notable Swedish local investments are through Scania, Atlas Copco, Ericsson, Volvo, SKF, Transcom, Saab, and Epiroc.
Swedish exports to the Philippines in 2022 were valued at $152 million, which is more than US$10 million than the initial once poured-in by IKEA in 2018.
Majority of Swedish shipments to the Philippines are machinery (40 percent), wood (18 percent) and paper products (17 percent).
On the other hand, Philippine exports to Sweden in 2022 account to $12 million. Most of the imported products are also in machineries, which comprised 75 percent of the total Philippine exports. The rest are fish and fruits.
The country’s shipments to Sweden rose by 126.9 percent compared with its prepandemic level in 2019, according to the Swedish National Board of Trade.
“We believe the Philippines is moving in the right direction. [We had a straightforward dialogue with its government, especially on] human rights,” he said.
Forssell foresees promise in all sectors, including in agriculture: “I tasted the excellent Philippine mango myself. There’s a potential there.”
The minister disclosed other sectors that Sweden is interested to invest in: energy efficiency and transmission, transmission, “green” transition, as well as security and defense.
FTA negotiations
ASIDE from boosting its bilateral trade relations with Sweden, Forssell would like to see the Philippines and the European Union revive talks on the matter. His country is a member of the 27 political and economic bloc in Europe. “Free-trade agreement [FTA] negotiations have been going on for several years.
It has not yet been finalized,” he explained. “I guess [some] momentum was lost…when the time is right, we should restart those negotiations.”
The Philippines and the EU are currently preoccupied with the negotiations to renew the inclusion of Manila to the EU’S Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+). Under this preferential trade scheme, 6,270 goods from the Philippines can enter the EU market without tariffs.
The GSP+ privilege accorded to the Philippines will expire this year. However, the European Parliament has threatened that it would not renew the GSP+ privilege to the country unless it complies with human-rights obligations.
Forssell believes that FTA negotiations between the Philippines and the EU are more important than the GSP+. “There is a growing understanding within the EU that [such discussions are the right steps] to take,” the minister concluded.