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Controversial Philippine-Japan Free Trade Deal Not To Be Approved In 13th Congress
4-Jun-2007
The controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, the free trade deal signed between Manila and Tokyo, will have to wait for the next Congress for ratification, as the document is not included in agenda in the last three plenary sessions of the 13th Congress of the Philippines this week.
Take your partners for economic integration
4-Jun-2007
Japan should continue its push for economic integration in East Asia while at the same time solidifying its relations with the United States, with an eye toward a bilateral free-trade agreement with the U.S., said participants in a recent symposium in Tokyo.
JPEPA: Fair trade?
3-Jun-2007 UP Forum
New RP-Japan trade pact may just spell false hopes for Filipino health care workers.
Manila militants urge incoming senators to reject Philippine-Japan trade pact
31-May-2007
Manila-based militant group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakay ng Pilipinas on Tuesday urged incoming senators to reject the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, which they described as the "second Japanese occupation of the Philippines."
JPEPA to cost RP P4B in foregone revenues
29-May-2007
The Philippines’ Finance department expects its most recent trade agreement with Japan to cost P4 billion a year in lost duties from Japanese imports.
Philippines: ’Diplomatic exchange’ on JPEPA toxic provisions not enough, Greenpeace says
28-May-2007 Infoshop
The diplomatic notes state that "Japan would not be exporting toxic waste to the Philippines as defined and prohibited under the laws of the Philippines and Japan, in accordance with the Basel Convention." This is where the loophole and ambiguity lies.
Japan hopes EPA to be signed soon
26-May-2007 ANTARA
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a meeting with visiting Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla in Tokyo on Friday expressed hope that the two contries could sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) as soon as possible.
Japan revs up its Indochina diplomacy
26-May-2007 Asia Times
Amid intensifying rivalry between Tokyo and Beijing over influence in Asia, Japan is revving up its drive to strengthen relations with countries in Indochina, an economically backward but geopolitically important part of the region. The target countries are Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, which are collectively referred to as the "CLV" countries.
Japan infiltrates the Middle East
24-May-2007 FPIF
Japan is the preferred US candidate among Asian powers to penetrate an increasingly eastward leaning Middle East. In providing advanced technology and investments that the region desperately needs, Japan has an advantage over India and China in this new rivalry for Middle East influence.
Side deal on toxic wastes won’t wash, says lawyer
24-May-2007 Asian Journal
A proposed side agreement to the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement aimed at ensuring that no toxic wastes will be exported to the Philippines will not not solve the deeper, more substantive problems of the JPEPA.
Japan begins studies on FTAs with US, EU
24-May-2007 Japan Today
Japan has begun considering bilateral free trade agreements with both the United States and the European Union, with specific plans. If the studies proceed smoothly, Japan and the United States are expected to start FTA negotiations "around the summer of 2009 after the launch of a new US administration," a senior METI official said.
RP-Japan pact won’t allow toxic dumping
23-May-2007 ABS-CBN
Japan will give formal assurance to Philippine senators that it will not dump toxic and hazardous waste on the Philippines in an attempt to convince them to ratify the controversial Japan- Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
Dealing with domestic conflicts in FTA negotiations: Lessons from the Korea-Chile FTA and NAFTA
22-May-2007 PECC
The most significant constraint in FTA negotiations is not international negotiation between two governments, but domestic negotiation with various domestic constituencies, such as organized farmers and labor, the national assembly, NGOs, etc. This paper analyzes the domestic conflicts that arise in FTA negotiations in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly focusing on the US, Japan, China and Korea.
Australia-Japan Free Trade Agreement - A bad deal should be stopped
22-May-2007 CUJ
A Joint Statement from Australian and Japanese people
Japanese investors want RP-Japan trade pact ratified
21-May-2007 PDI
200 Japanese businessmen expressed that they would invest in the Philippines only after the approval of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
Keidanren chief calls for Japan-EU free trade pact
21-May-2007 Kyodo
The head of Japan’s largest big-business group urged the government Monday to strike a free trade agreement with the European Union to alleviate impediments to two-way trade and ensure a freer flow of invesment funds.
Japan, Switzerland launch FTA talks
14-May-2007 Ohmynews
Switzerland is the first European country with which Japan negotiates an FTA.
Agreement on ’Trade in Goods’ in the proposed ASEAN-Japan economic pact to be finalized November
13-May-2007 Balita Organization
On the contentious issue of transboundary movement of toxic waste, which inclusion in the JPEPA had caused an uproar locally, Philippine Trade Secretary Peter B Favila said it is likely that the same provision would be carried in the Japan-ASEAN trade deal.
Japan to draw up farmland reforms to keep up with global FTA trend
11-May-2007 Kyodo
Japan will draw up a package of farmland reform measures by this fall in a bid to enhance the competitiveness of its ailing agricultural sector and keep up with the global trend of sealing free trade agreements, a key government economic panel said Wednesday.
Japan should consider free trade agreement with US
11-May-2007 Bloomberg
Japan needs to consider the possibility of signing a free trade agreement with the U.S., the country’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said today.