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Friday, September 08, 2006
Japan approves free trade agreement with Philippines (12:30 p.m.)
TOKYO -- Japan's Cabinet approved a bilateral free trade agreement with the Philippines, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
The agreement will be signed on Saturday between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe meeting in Helsinki, Finland, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said.
Tokyo and Manila began working on the deal since 2003, but the talks have bogged down since last year over the final details, including the number of nurses and details on the liberalization of auto and steel industries in the Philippines.
Details of the agreement will not be published until the signing ends, the ministry said in a statement.
"We hope the agreement promotes free trade, investment and wide range of economic cooperation between our country and the Philippines and thus further activates economy in both countries," the ministry said in a statement.
Kyodo News agency last week said the deal was sealed as Tokyo agreed to limit the number of Philippine nurses allowed to work in Japan at 400-500 a year.
Many Philippine households rely heavily on the salaries that Filipinos working overseas send home. Manila has been trying to open more employment markets for such overseas workers.
The nurse program has been one of the most sensitive issues in the bilateral trade agreement. Japanese economists have argued that Tokyo needs to admit foreign laborers on a large scale to compensate for a sinking birthrate and a rapidly aging population, and that finally seems to have gained support.
Tokyo already has reportedly agreed to slash its tariffs on bananas and reduce its barriers to tuna and poultry exports from the Philippines. Manila also has agreed to gradually eliminate tariffs on vehicle imports from Japan over the next four years.
Japan is the second-biggest agricultural market for the Philippines after the United States, particularly imported bananas, pineapples and other fruits.
The Philippines, meanwhile, could provide a promising market for Japanese automakers once it cuts vehicle tariffs. (AP) |
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