The first round of Canada-Philippines free trade agreement negotiations took place in Manila, Philippines, from February 18-20, 2026.
Canada and the Philippines engaged constructively, and both sides demonstrated a commitment to conclude a commercially-beneficial agreement in 2026.
The two sides reviewed all draft negotiating text, began to quickly identify commonalities, closed text in several areas, and began isolating areas requiring further focus and technical work.
Within the key developments, National Treatment and Market Access negotiators reviewed the entire draft chapter text and achieved preliminary agreement in some areas. Negotiators discussed market access interests and agreed on the timely exchange of data and first tariffs requests, to support early engagement in market access negotiations.
The second round of negotiations will take place in Manila, Philippines, April 13-17 with a larger number of negotiating tables expected to participate.