Philippines, US to start free trade talks

MANILA: The Philippines will begin negotiations on a free trade agreement with the United States in September, its ambassador to Washington said on Thursday, in a bid to expand market access for its agricultural products.

Jose Manuel Romualdez told reporters the first round of talks will be held in Washington and would likely focus on labour, intellectual property and agriculture as Manila looks to boost exports to foreign markets.

"It´s just the start and this will take some time, maybe one or two years," Romualdez said, adding the Philippines has a $5.4 billion trade surplus with the United States in 2016, one of the country´s top trading partners.