Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA)

 

The PJEPA is the country’s first and only bilateral free trade agreement to date. It was signed in Helsinki, Finland by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on 9 September 2006. The Philippine Senate concurred with the ratification of the PJEPA on 8 October 2008 and the Agreement officially entered into force on 11 December 2008.

Coverage

The PJEPA covers Trade in Goods (TIG), Trade in Services (TIS), Investments, Movement of Natural Persons (MNP), Intellectual Property (IP), Customs Procedures, Improvement of the Business Environment (IBE), and Government Procurement (GP).

PJEPA General Review

Under Article 161 of the PJEPA, the Parties shall undertake a General Review of the Agreement and its implementation and operation in 2011 and every five (5) years thereafter, unless otherwise agreed by both Parties. In view of this, the General Review has been taken up during the meetings of the Joint Committee since 2011. The Philippines is continuously pushing for its offensive interest in (a) improvement of market access especially for our major agricultural exports, (b) renegotiation of Rules of Origin (ROO) for some products, and (c) a framework for the entry of additional categories of skilled workers from the Philippines to Japan.

Latest talks on the General Review were held during the 5th PJEPA Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) that was held last 6 May 2016 in Manila. Discussions focused on the proposed scope of the General Review –Trade in Goods (TIG), Rules of Origin (ROO), Trade in Services (TIS), Investments, Government Procurement (GP), and Intellectual Property (IP).

Important Documents

  1. Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
  2. Annexes

Related Data/Statistics

PJEPA infographic

*Based on 8-year average data before (2001-2008) and after (2009-2016) entry into force (EIF) of the PJEPA
Source: ITC Trademap

For more details, contact the DTI BRD at BRD@dti.gov.ph