Realizing the Potential of Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA)

Event Details

More than a decade after the signing of the free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippine and the Japanese governments, our country still has not maximized the potential of this FTA. Despite its potential, the country has failed to realize and utilize the needed tools to improve to make exporting Philippine products to Japan easier.

The country's total export to Japan only grew by 1.9% , to $8.89 billion in the period of January-October 2019 from $8.72 billion in the same period of 2018.

The Philippine government is set to review the agreement this year. Based on the study from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the weak realization of the potential of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) is attributed to many factors like the lack of information, procedural delays, and administrative and compliance costs, among others.

With these challenges, the government is urged to undertake negotiations and involve the business organizations in wider information sessions to increase the number of traders that fully utilize the benefits of the FTA.

This event is hosted by the Agribusiness Committee and co-hosted by the Manufacturing and Trade & Investment Committees, aims to:

Give a background and review the benefits of JPEPA
Steer discussions on the possible roles of the private sector
Contribute to the expanded market access of the Philippine export products

Members

Use this ticket if your company is a member of AmCham Philippines or if you are a member's proxy.

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpduugrzIvHNSzdJoLOCVH_04WHrG1ku4Y

(you can email kv@amchamphilippines.com if you are unsure if complimentary passes are available for your organization)

Additional Members

Member companies may send additional representatives to our events, at the cost of ₱300 per head.

Standard Price: ₱300 + 10% | $7.00
-For online payments through credit card or Paypal, with an additional tariff due to service charge.

Standard Price₱300

Standard Price$7

Non-Members

For non-member company representatives or additional guests of AmCham members.

Standard Price: ₱1,000 + 10% | $22.00
-For online payments through credit card or Paypal, with an additional tariff due to service charge.

Standard Price₱1,000

Standard Price$22

Speakers

Director Angelo Salvador M. Benedictos

Director of Bureau of International Trade Relations, DTI

Dr. Francis Mark Quimba

Research Fellow at Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS)

Mr. Daijou Tsuchikawa

Representative at Embassy of Japan in the Philippines

Stephen Antig

Executive Director of Pilipino Banana Growers & Exporters Association, Inc.

Angelo Salvador Benedictos is a trade specialist on Trade-related Investment Measures (TRIMs), Safeguards, and Trade in Textiles and Clothing during the Uruguay Round (UR) of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that created the WTO. Over the years, he assumed more senior responsibilities on the results of the UR, the stalled Doha Round or Doha Development Agenda (DDA), and other new issues emerging.

He is also involved in the implementation of Philippine commitments in the WTO, particularly, on the passage of trade remedy laws of anti-dumping, countervailing, and safeguard duties. He is part of the Philippine technical teams for the country’s WTO Trade Policy Reviews (TPRs), as well as dispute settlement procedures, particularly a successful pursuit of discriminatory Thai measures applied on cigarette imports from the Philippines and found inconsistent with WTO rules by a panel.

He was also the initial Lead Negotiator for the country’s regional free trade agreements (FTAs) under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with countries like China, India, South Korea and Japan. As the country’s ASEAN Senior Economic Official (SEOM), he also was the initial Lead Negotiator on the ASEAN’s Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) with Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. Acting as the Deputy Senior Official (SOM) for the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC), he led the negotiations of the goods text of the Philippines-EFTA FTA with the European Free Trade Association countries, and of the PH-EU FTA with the European Union. He also reviewed trade in goods of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA) and the ongoing Philippines – Korea FTA negotiations.

A participant in the GATT Trade Policy Course in Geneva and in many GATT-WTO seminars, workshops, and conferences, he is also a resource person on the WTO.

He has a bachelors' degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines. He obtained a Master of Economics of Development, and Graduate Diploma in Economics of Development from the Australian National University.

AmCham Philippines

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