RP-Japan trade pact signed Sept. 10

The Philippines and Japan will sign a long-overdue trade agreement at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Finland on Sept. 10.

Foreign affairs officials who requested anonymity said President Arroyo and Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will sign the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) at the sideline of ASEM.

The signing will highlight the bilateral meeting of Mrs. Arroyo and Koizumi at the ASEM summit. "JPEPA will be signed during the ASEM summit in Finland," one of the officials said, adding that the two countries have already resolved their differences over some provisions in the trade deal. He did not elaborate.

But the Japanese Embassy in Manila was mum on the supposed signing of the trade agreement.

"It is still being negotiated and coordinated between both countries so we cannot confirm specific timing of signing," said Motoichiro Yamada, Japanese embassy press attaché.

The President and Koizumi raised the need for a special trade deal during a meeting in Japan in December 2003. The two agreed to begin negotiations the following year for the creation of JPEPA.

JPEPA aims to liberalize trans-border flow of goods, services and capital between Japan and the Philippines, as well as promote a comprehensive economic partnership covering information and communications technology, intellectual property, and improvement of business environment, among others. — Pia Lee-Brago