Wider farm items’ access drives PJEPA review bid
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is still trying to schedule the next general review for the Philippinesjapan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA), noting that the country has a lot of “offensive interest” in agriculture.
“For PJEPA, we’re still trying to schedule the next general review. But we have a lot of offensive interest in agriculture. Especially given the strong request for greater access of banana growers in Mindanao and pineapple [producers],” said DTI Special Trade Representative (STR) for Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Tokyo, Bernardita A. Mathay, speaking partly in Filipino. She gave reporters a virtual media briefing on Tuesday.
Mathay stressed the country’s need to have bigger access for agricultural products. However, Trade officials said matters related to the trade deal will be brought up in the general review of the PJEPA.
As for access for the country’s bananas, Mathay explained, “We’re trying to remove the seasonal tariffs of our banana exports to Japan because right now we’re losing market share because of the entry of let’s say, Ecuador bananas, etc.”
What they wanted to do, the trade representative said, was “implore [with] them, the retail players to increase the price of bananas, which hasn’t moved in the last 15 years.”
But, Mathay said, at the end of the day, that is a “market supply and demand decision.”
The trade representative said the Philippines is exporting Cavendish bananas to Japan.
The Philippines is exporting regular pineapples to Japan, Mathay said, adding that the country’s “doing very well there.”
According to the DTI website, PJEPA is the first bilateral free trade agreement of the Philippines. The trade deal was signed in Helsinki, Finland by then-president Gloria Macapagalarroyo and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on September 9, 2006.
The Philippine Senate concurred in the ratification of the PJEPA on October 8, 2008 and the Agreement officially entered into force on December 11, 2008, DTI noted.
The PJEPA covers, among others, trade in goods, trade in services, investments, movement of natural persons (MNP), intellectual property (IP), government procurement (GP), competition and improvement of business environment (IBE).
DTI said upon PJEPA’S entry of force in 2008, the balance of trade “gradually” improved in favor of the Philippines.
Under the PJEPA General Review, DTI said the Philippines is “continuously” pursuing its offensive interest in improving market access through tariff elimination or reduction for fresh bananas and pineapples, fish products, among others; improvement of rules of origin (ROO) for major export products; and creation of a framework for the entry of additional categories of skilled Filipino workers to Japan.