JPEPA
The governments of Japan and the Philippines reached a basic political agreement on the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) on 29 November 2004 at the ASEAN Summit in Laos. The agreement was then signed in Helsinki on 9 September 2006 and came into force on 11 December 2008. It was the Philippines’ first free trade agreement and Japan’s fourth.
JPEPA was and remains hugely controversial. Filipinos — and on some issues, Japanese groups — mobilised to stop the deal for many reasons, including the following:
the small job market openings for Filipino healthcare workers are very limited (the workers must learn Japanese, undergo equivalency exams, stay for only a restricted time etc) and overlook the real potential for abuse of Filipino workers in Japan; concerns that Japan will gain access to and be able to overfish Philippine waters, ruining the livelihoods of small fisherfolk; any supposed benefits for increased pineapple and banana exports to Japan would in fact go to corporations like Dole and Del Monte, and their local business partners, who own and run the plantations in the Philippines — not to small or landless Filipino farmers; its unconstitutionality, since JPEPA allows Japanese corporations to own land, operate schools and practice certain professions in the Philippines which the Philippine Constitution does not allow; the huge imbalances in the deal, e.g. Japan excluded almost 200 tariff lines from the agreement, the Philippines only six; and the fact that JPEPA gives explicit legal ground for Japan to dump toxic wastes in the Philippines.
last update: May 2012
Articles
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17-Mar-2012 Tariffs, access on agenda for JPEPA renegotiation
The Philippines hopes to persuade Japan to lower tariffs further for over a thousand types of agricultural goods when the two meet to renegotiate a bilateral trade pact later this semester, a Trade official said. -
21-Feb-2012 Japan ‘very pleased’ with Jpepa—embassy
Japan is very pleased with the economic fruits of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa), which has made “significant strides” since it came into force in 2008, according to the Japanese Embassy in Pasay City. -
14-Dec-2011 Manila Bulletin PJEPA review reset to January
Negotiations for the general review of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, originally scheduled this month, have been moved to January next year. -
25-Nov-2011 BusinessWorld Philippine-Japan agreement to undergo formal negotiations in Dec.
A work standard for Filipino nurses and caregivers in Japan and the raising of tariff quotas for chicken and other agricultural items will be among the issues that the Philippines will raise when it reviews its bilateral agreement with Japan next month. -
19-Nov-2011 Japan reneges on JPEPA commitment
The local automotive industry has asked the government to remind Japan of its commitment to bring in fresh investments into the Philippines under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement. -
8-Nov-2011 Manila Bulletin RP, Japan agree PJEPA overhaul
The Philippines and Japan are in agreement to undertake a comprehensive review of its bilateral free trade agreement, but are likely to clash in their objectives as the Philippines is set to go for more protection of its interest, like higher tariffs on some imports from Japan, in contrast to Japan’s call for further trade liberalization and other sectors covered under the agreement. -
17-Oct-2011 Manila Bulletin Comprehensive PJEPA FTA review pushed
The Philippines is expected to call for a comprehensive review of its free trade agreement with Japan to put the country in a better position, but such move should not be in conflict with Japan’s stance that the review should only focus on further liberalizing this bilateral trade agreement. -
19-Sep-2011 Manila Bulletin Aquino may take up PJEPA
The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry is studying whether it has to recommend the inclusion of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement or not in the agenda of the official visit of President Aquino in Japan later this month. -
11-Aug-2011 Inquirer.net SC urged to rule against implementation of Japan-Philippine trade deal
A multisectoral group urged the Philippine Supreme Court to rule on its petition filed in 2008 that sought to stop the implementation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). -
5-Jul-2011 Senate archives Chief calls Senators ’liars’
A section chief at the Senate accused lawmakers who signed the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) of being “big liars” and betraying public trust as she revealed that contrary to the interest and safety of the Filipinos, toxic and nuclear wastes from Japan will be brought into the country. -
23-May-2011 Malacañang urged to review PJEPA
Congress has urged Malacañ ang to make a comprehensive review of the Philippine-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA) and focus on investments and exports. -
23-May-2011 Lawmakers seek entry of more nurses in Japan
The House committee on economic affairs endorsed yesterday a resolution seeking the renegotiation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) to allow the entry of more Filipino nurses in Japan. -
9-Feb-2011 Japan cuts Filipino nurses some slack
Since the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) was implemented in 2009, only one Filipino nurse qualified to work in Japan after going through rigorous application and hiring procedures, an official of the Japanese embassy in Manila said Tuesday. -
25-Aug-2010 Nursing exam to include English translation
A health ministry panel on Tuesday compiled a set of changes in the national nursing examination that include providing English translations to explain difficult Japanese terms for foreigners. -
11-Aug-2010 Woes of foreign nurses, caregivers in Japan
Jusuf Anwar, Indonesian ambassador to Japan, has bewailed the overly stringent Japanese national examinations for foreign caregivers and nurses. Out of the 500 Indonesians who took the examinations in 2008 and 2009, only two have passed and have become certified nurses. -
7-Jun-2010 AllVoices.com Aquino pressed to review Manila-Tokyo trade deal
Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said the review and possible abrogation of the bilateral trade pact between the Philippines and Japan could happen in the first 100 days of the Aquino administration. -
20-Apr-2010 Business Mirror Japan hits RP for auto tariffs
"The [JPEPA] agreement has been signed and only the implementation is not taking place,” said Yasuhiko Arimitsu, president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines. -
30-Nov-2009 Manila Bulletin Auto workers slam DTI on JPEPA auto tariff talks delay
A group of 75,000 automotive industry workers has slammed the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry for lack of earnest efforts to negotiate a delay in the tariff elimination of imported vehicles under the signed Japan Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). -
25-Nov-2009 Business Mirror Jpepa tariff lifting worries auto workers
The “horrors” of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) continue to haunt the country. -
22-Nov-2009 RP: no tariff lifting sans investment
The Philippines is likely to suspend its tariff-elimination commitments for Japanese vehicles and auto parts under the two countries’ economic partnership agreement starting in January, as the government still needs to determine if the “increased investment” that Japan promised has indeed come in already.
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FairTradeWeb
A broad multisectoral coalition of formal and informal labor, industry, agriculture, NGOs and youth pushing for the renegotiation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). -
JPEPA Research Project website
A research website on the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) maintained by the Philippine APEC Study Centre Network -
Magkaisa Junk JPEPA
Multisectoral effort to defeat an unfair and environmentally unjust bilateral trade agreement with Japan
