The Trade Department said it expects to conduct a general review of the Philippines Japan Economic Partnership Agreement in the early part of 2016.
“We’re waiting for a schedule for our review. We’ve been trying to set a schedule for the general review so we can start as soon as possible,” said acting Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal Jr.
The activity is the first general review since the Philippines and Japan signed the agreement in 2006.
“Japan is a strategic partner in the Philippine growth story. After we signed the PJPEPA in 2006, Japan has become our number one trading partner and one of the top sources of investments to the Philippines,” Cristobal said.
The Philippines is studying if it can negotiate the entry of more agricultural products to Japan in exchange for concessions on other tradable goods.
Both the Philippines and Japan noted that recent trade and investment figures were very encouraging and that free trade agreement had sustained increased Japanese investments in the Philippines.
JPEPA is an important framework for enhancing economic ties between the two countries.
Officials said the exceptional Philippine human resource pool had also helped the overseas expansion of Japanese companies.
Officials said they expected these positive developments to be further promoted by frequent bilateral summit meetings, Japan’s on-going cooperation in Typhoon Yolanda relief and rehabilitation, support for peace and development in Mindanao as well as other official development assistance projects.
Both sides agreed to continue efforts in reducing outstanding issues before the next meeting through continuous dialogs with business communities.
These dialogs are considered important in attracting more Japanese investments into the Philippines.
Bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded $17 billion or 14.5 percent of the Philippines’ external trade in 2014.
The agreement also boosted Japanese investments in 2014, which accounted for over 16 percent of the foreign direct investments in the country.