2-Sep-2008
Fair Trade Alliance
The multisectoral Fair Trade Alliance (FairTrade), a broad coalition of industry, agriculture, formal and informal labor, NGOs and youth pushing for trade and economic reforms, maintains its stance in the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) that it will not favor the agreement’s ratification without renegotiation.
1-Sep-2008
Fair Trade Alliance
The Philippine government has been making a hard sell on JPEPA — threatening that a failure to ratify shall be catastrophic to the Philippines, while a ratification of the agreement shall be a big boost to the economy. FairTrade, on the other hand, bolsters its position urging the government to renegotiate the treaty because of the agreement’s inherent economic and constitutional questions. The Senate must correct these patently one-sided contents in JPEPA so that it will effectively benefit Philippine industries and the Filipino people. In fact, what the JPEPA proponents have NOT told the Nation is that JPEPA is biased against the Philippines.
21-Aug-2008
Manila Standard
Philippine senators have suspended debates on the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement pending a clarification by the Foreign Affairs and Trade departments as well as the Japanese government on the status of a side agreement that will address constitutional issues raised by lawmakers.
17-Aug-2008
Manila Bulletin
The Philippines is pushing the development of local dairy industry as its counter-offer to the 100 percent tariff cut on the same products asked by Australia and New Zealand under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand free trade agreement.
12-Aug-2008
Business Mirror
THE Philippines is seeking to settle sticky issues in the proposed partnership cooperation agreement (PCA) with the European Union which include government’s commitments to uphold human rights and rule of law in the country before the Asia Europe Meeting (Asem) Summit in Beijing in October this year.
