The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Monday said President Duterte’s upcoming trip to Japan would result in an initial gain of $2 billion, possibly from 12 private-to-private deals already in the pipeline.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the Philippines would also seek to expand its access to the services and trade sectors of Japan via the Philippines-Japanese Economic Partnership Agreement (Pjepa). Pjepa is the first bilateral trade deal forged by the Philippines.
“Around 12 deals may be signed, but there may be more. That’s around $2 billion in deals between private-sector players, excluding the official development assistance (ODA) or loans,” Lopez told reporters on Monday.
Deals that may be signed would benefit the country’s manufacturing, agriculture and agri-processing sectors. The DTI said discussions on Pjepa centering on better terms for the country’s services sector will also take place. For one, the Philippines is keen on deploying more nurses to Japan. President Duterte will be going to Japan on a state visit from October 25 to 27. The President will be joined by Lopez and representatives from more than a hundred Filipino businesses seeking tie-ups with their Japanese counterparts.
Mr. Duterte and Lopez will then proceed to Taiwan, where they will stay until October 28. Manila is making a concerted effort to reinforce relations with neighboring Asian countries following the President’s announcement that he wants to “separate” from its long-standing ally, the United States.
The President made the pronouncement in a speech before Chinese businessmen and government officials in Beijing. Mr. Duterte visited China from October 18 to 21.
On Friday Cabinet members, including Lopez, clarified that the President merely wanted to “lessen the country’s dependence on one side of the world.”
Other Cabinet members came to Duterte’s defense, explaining that the “separation” would not involve economic relations between the US and the Philippines.
2 comments
“Lessen dependence” with America? But we’ve been dealing with Japan and China ever since. Actually these two are our largest in trading with PH. Give me a real valid excuse because this is old news and it is so flimsy.
Actually, they’re not. US and Japan are our top two major trading partners, China has always been in third.That’s just trade. Investment-wise, China’s investment level doesn’t even come close to the US. check your facts before commenting.