By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat The Philippines, which recently rejected the trade aid worth 6.1 million euros from EU, has asked for the expansion of the list of products covered under the EU Generalized Scheme of Preferences, which grants duty free access of more than 6,000 products to the 28-member country political and economic bloc. Ambassador Franz Jessen, head of the EU Delegation in the Philippines, said Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez has requested for the expansion of the GSP Plus to cover more products. The EU-GSP+ program grants zero duty on over 6,000 products to any of the 28-member countries of the European Union (EU). These products include coconut and marine products, processed fruit, prepared food, animal and vegetable fats and oils, textiles, garments, headwear, footwear, furniture, umbrellas, and chemicals. “I think from his point of view sort of a sensible request, we’ll see how we will respond to that,” Jessen said noting that the GSP Plus has been very helpful in helping the Philippines export to EU in a very significant manner, resulting in a 33 percent increase in exports growth in 2017 to $9.3 billion compared to 2016. According to EU, an estimated P120 billion of these were exported through GSP+, benefiting the food and agricultural sector. In the EU Trade Preferences Monitoring Report released on 19 January 2018, it stated that the robust trade relations between the two parties was highlighted by the EUR 2 billion-worth of PH exports in 2017 benefitting from the GSP+ compared to the EUR 1.66 billion in 2016. This makes the EU the country's second largest export partner, after Japan and before the US and China. In November last year, the Duterte administration said it would no longer accept grants or aid that are tied to EU conditions, such as human rights. The move came after some EU Parliamentarians openly criticized the government’s human rights record following its bloody war on illegal drugs. The Philippines has accused EU of interfering in the country’s domestic affairs and imposing conditions on their aid to the country. Early this year, Jessen confirmed that the Duterte administration rejected the 6.1 million-euro grant under the Trade-Related Technical Assistance (TRTA), a trade capacity building program for the Philippines.  Two other projects by EU are supposed to materialize also this year if the Duterte administration is not going to reject these as well. One involves 3 grant contracts for sustainable energy for Mindanao worth 11.5 million euros. The last project involves new call for proposals on sustainable energy projects (10 million euros and 18 million euros) that EU has to decide this week for possible postponement because these are covered by a financing agreement that runs for 4 years but which cannot be extended for two more years and for which the Philippine government has to agree on. The 18 million project is in partnership with the World Bank. These projects are being implemented by EU partners with some schools and non-government organizations (NGOs). These funds will go back to Brussels and will be reallocated to countries in need of EU aid.