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"The ball is in the Philippines' court," Ledoux told reporters.The EU is pursuing free trade talks with other Southeast Asian nations, including Singapore and Malaysia, after failing to broker one with the 10 nation ASEAN regional block.
The Philippines is part of an intra ASEAN free trade area but has yet to sign a bilateral pact on its own.Philippine exports to the EU stood at about $3.3 billion in 2009, the latest official data available.The Philippine trade department told AFP its official responsible for trade relations with the EU was unavailable for comment Thursday.