JPEPA boosted trade between PHL, Japan in 2010

The Japanese government recognizes how beneficial the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) has been in the past three years, after trade volume increased with Philippine exports to Japan going up from $6.21 billion in 2009 to $7.80 billion in 2010. Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe acknowledged this to Philippine Trade Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal on Thursday at the Japanese embassy in Manila, where they co-chaired the meeting of the third Sub-Committee on the Improvement of Business Environment under the JPEPA implementation scheme. JPEPA also spurred Japanese exports to the Philippines to increase from $5.34 billion in 2009 to $6.75 billion in 2010, Urabe added. The Japanese envoy said that since JPEPA entered into force in December 2008, “significant strides" have been made in its implementation despite the global economic crisis and financial instability in the past years. “Japan remains the biggest investor to the Philippines in terms of investments approved by the Investment Promotion Agency with the value of P 58.3 billion in 2010," the Japanese embassy said on Thursday. The embassy statement added that accumulated Japanese direct investment to the Philippines from 2006 to 2010 has reached P203.8 billion. Also present at the meeting were representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan External Trade Organization, as well as private business sector representatives led by Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines president Nobuya Ichiki and Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice-chairman Donald Dee. Next March, both countries will hold dialogues on the business environment under JPEPA. — MRT/VS, GMA News