The Philippines asked Japan to review the Philippine-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA), keep it abreast of international developments and expand the agreement to reflect emerging trade opportunities and areas of cooperation.
Trade Undersecretary for the International Trade Group (ITG) Allan Gepty stressed the importance of updating PJEPA, which entered into force in 2008 but had not undergone a comprehensive review since.
“This agreement was supposed to be reviewed five years after its signing, but until now, no review has been completed. It’s long overdue,” he said.
Gepty noted the missed opportunities resulting from the delay, saying that the Philippines already upgraded agreements with ASEAN, Australia-New Zealand and other regional frameworks.
PJEPA lags behind in addressing critical and modern trade aspects such as the digital economy, e-commerce and intellectual property rights, he said.
“There are many stakeholders calling for this, including our agricultural sector, particularly for products like bananas. We need to review and expand PJEPA to cover new areas such as competition policy and digital trade. The existing intellectual property chapter, for example, is not as comprehensive as other FTAs,” Gepty said.
He also pointed out the challenges in pushing forward the review process with Japan, a key trading and investment partner.
“From 2008 to 2011, there were talks, but no conclusions. It feels like a case of lost opportunities,” he said.
He also underscored the need for innovation and proactive measures to align PJEPA with global trade trends.
“We want to make PJEPA a more comprehensive and high-quality FTA, comparable to the agreements we’ve recently concluded. This would not only strengthen our trade ties with Japan but also ensure that we don’t fall behind in leveraging new opportunities,” Gepty said.
