MANILA, Philippines — The government will be pushing for the review of the Philippines’ bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan later this month.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque told reporters that she will visit Japan this month as part of efforts to encourage more investments into the country.
She said the government would also be bringing up the review of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA) during the trip to Japan.
“We have to take that up also because there are some agricultural products that we want to push,” she said.
The PJEPA, which entered into force in 2008, is the Philippines’ first bilateral free trade deal.
Under the PJEPA, the FTA will be subject to review in 2011 and every five years thereafter.
While a meeting for the FTA’s review was conducted in 2019, not much progress has been made.
Earlier, Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty said there is room to expand the PJEPA’s coverage.
He said the FTA does not have provisions relating to sustainable development, environment, micro, small and medium enterprises, e-commerce or even circular economy, which are important in promoting sustainable trade.
The PJEPA covers trade in goods, rules of origin, customs procedures, trade in services, investment, movement of natural persons, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, improvement of the business environment and cooperation.
During the visit to Japan, Roque said she would push for investments in semiconductors, as well as retail.
Apart from Japan, Roque is also set to fly to South Korea this month for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
