Monday, March 10, 2008 RP could lose Japanese market By Gil Alfredo B. Severino
WHETHER FTA means the perceived capitalist 'free trade agreement' or the 'fair trade agreement' of the labor-leaning groups, all these sectors randomly interviewed by Sun.Star Bacolod are in agreement that the trend now is integration of East Asian economies.
In a study by Ambassador Donald Dee, Philippine Special Envoy for Trade Negotiations, provided by the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (MBCCI), the Philippines and Indonesia have the lowest number of trade agreements signed with robust economies around the globe.
Singapore has 13 FTAs and economic partnership agreements (EPAs), Thailand and Japan have seven, Malaysia and South Korea have five compared to the Philippines and Indonesia which have four, according to the study.
In a conference conducted by the Free Trade Alliance (FTA) here in Bacolod late last week, it took cognizance of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) which gave undue disadvantage position for the Philippines.
Wigberto Tañada, FTA lead convenor, described JPEPA as unconstitutional.
To which Dee argued that since Japan can absorb mostly the ASEAN exports,
without JPEPA for the Philippines, RP exports will be further eroded by other ASEAN countries agressively pursuing negotiations with Japan.
Despite the market complimentarity of Japan and the Philippines, Japan without JPEPA imports only 10.6 percent from the Philippines.
Japan, meantime, allocates 28.7 percent of its imports from Indonesia, 21.4 percent from Thailand and 20.2 percent from Malaysia and a meager 10.6 percent from the Philippines.
Dee claims that this could be a signal that Japanese outbound investments will flow to these countries with less market restrictions but not to the Philippines.
Without a clear FTA/EPA with Japan, like JPEPA, these competing countries of the Philippines could send a positive signal to major trading partners that its is commited to grow under a more open trading environment.
How the Philippines formulates policies within the JPEPA framework could spell the direction of the country's trade competitiveness.
The Philippines could lose the Japanese market if the country or the Philippine Senate rejects a comprehensive agreement with Japan.
