Japan signals readiness to review trade pact

THE PHILIPPINES and Japan are set to review the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) this year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

“The signal from Japan, and also from this visit of President (Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.) is they’re ready to start the discussions on the review,” Marie Sherylyn D. Aquia, director IV of the DTI Bureau of International Trade Relations, told reporters on the sidelines of a European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines forum last week.

The JPEPA took effect in 2008 and is the country’s first bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).

It covers trade goods, rules of origin, customs procedures, investment, movement of natural persons, intellectual property, and government procurement.

The Philippines has taken the position that the deal is overdue for review, after the agreement called for a revisiting of its provisions five years after its implementation.

In a statement posted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan last week, the countries agreed to review the JPEPA and the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement, citing the need to strengthen supply chains and economic resilience across the wider Asian region.

Japan also supported the Philippine request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership CPTPP), the MoFA said.

“Prime Minister (Sanae) Takaichi stated that she welcomes the Philippines’ request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and expressed Japan’s support for the early commencement of the accession process,” it said.

Separately, the DTI is also planning to start negotiations for a preferential trade agreement with India this year, Ms. Aquia said.

“With India, we also want to start within the year the negotiations for a preferential trade agreement, just on the goods,” she said.

The DTI also said it will look into the Ukranian government’s push to deepen ties with the Philippines through the creation of a Joint Commission on Trade, Investment and Scientific-Technical Cooperation, Ms. Aquia said.

“We’re also looking at the possibility of that because we’re always open for joint economic cooperation agreements or understandings with different partners,” she noted.

The DTI is also looking to wrap up FTA talks with Canada and Chile this year. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz