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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
Photo: Karasantos / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0


Customs ready to implement JPEPA today
Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said yesterday that even if it leads to a loss in revenue collection, the agency is ready to implement the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
SC to include anti-JPEPA petition on en banc agenda next week - Marquez
The Supreme Court of the Philippines will include in its agenda for next week’s en banc session the petition filed Thursday by a multisectoral group seeking the nullification of the implementation of the recently ratified Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
Japanese firms plan to transfer to Philippines
A number of Japanese firms have expressed intention to move their businesses to the Philippines once the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement takes effect next month, an official said yesterday.
RP nurses given options to work in Japan as JPEPA takes effect on December 11
The Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) will be in force from December 11 this year, with the swapping last Friday of a diplomatic note between Manila and Tokyo for its implementation.
JPEPA to take effect December 11
Japan and the Philippines exchanged diplomatic notes Friday in Manila to implement a free trade agreement (FTA) signed between the two sides in 2006, setting December 11 as the date it will enter into force.
Pitfalls in implementing tax treaties
The recent ratification of the Japan-Philippines Partnership Economic Agreement, or JPEPA, and the modified RP-Japan tax treaty by the Philippine Senate has once again focused attention on these international agreements which grant reciprocal tax concessions to the contracting parties.
Palace rushes EO on tariff changes sought by Jpepa
Malacanang is rushing to issue before November 9 an executive order that will implement the tariff modifications required under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa).
Int’l signature drive vs Jpepa launched in Bangkok
An international signature drive has been launched in Bangkok, Thailand asking the Philippine Senate to recall the ratification of the controversial Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa).
Int’l signature drive vs Jpepa launched in Bangkok
An international signature drive has been launched in Bangkok, Thailand asking the Philippine Senate to recall the ratification of the controversial Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa).

    Links


  • Magkaisa Junk JPEPA
    Multisectoral effort to defeat an unfair and environmentally unjust bilateral trade agreement with Japan