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Publications Approving Manila-Tokyo trade accord will usher in more unfair agreements
Publications Approving Manila-Tokyo trade accord will usher in more unfair agreements | Approving Manila-Tokyo trade accord will usher in more unfair agreements |
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06/20/2008 | 03:09 PM GMA News TV MANILA, Philippines - A trade campaign network warned that approving a Manila-Tokyo trade deal will usher in more unfair and imbalanced economic agreements between the country and its trading partners. "If the Senate ratifies the [Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement] with its lopsided provisions favoring Japan, this would set the parameters for our other trading partners like the EU and the US to demand the same level of commitment to open up our markets to goods and services," said Joseph Purugganan of Focus on the Global South and the EU-ASEAN Campaign Network. The group is a multi-sectoral trade campaign network monitoring the EU-ASEAN FTA negotiations. In a statement, Purugganan said that even before JPEPA comes into force, the Philippines as part of ASEAN is already negotiating a number of similar trade and economic partnership agreements with the EU, Australia and New Zealand, Korea, and India among others. "These so-called free trade and economic partnership agreements are crafted from the same mold. Some of the detailed language in these proposed agreements may vary slightly but the guiding principle behind these deals is the same - to open up markets for goods and services and to liberalize investment regimes," Purugganan stressed. "There is also the principle of 'parity and maximum frontloading' that is enshrined in these proposed agreements that essentially grants to a party the same level of market access opening already granted to a third party under another trade and economic partnership agreement. This means that a negotiating partner like EU will demand the same treatment for its investors as what is afforded under JPEPA," said Purugganan. "This is a guarantee that the lopsidedness of JPEPA will be replicated many times over under all these bilateral and regional trade agreements," he added. Trade negotiators from the European Union and ASEAN will be meeting in Manila from June 25-27 in the third round of negotiations of the EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement. The Philippine meeting is expected to tackle concrete proposals on the elements of the proposed FTA. - GMANews.TV |
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