MANILA, Jan. 21 -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is looking forward to the Philippines and the European Union (EU) concluding the assessment on the resumption of negotiations for free trade agreement (FTA) by the first quarter of the year.

In a recent interview with DTI Undersecretary Allan Gepty, he said the stocktaking exercise was launched last year following the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen here on July 31 last year, announcing EU's interest to resume talks for the FTA with the Philippines.

The stocktaking meetings between technical experts from the Philippines and EU were also completed in the last quarter of 2023.

The meetings provided a glimpse on the expectations in renegotiating t...