Conclusion
Despite the gains observed in trade and investments, some provisions of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa)—particularly on sections covering some agricultural product lines and movement of natural persons—need to be renegotiated soon to enhance the entry of more goods and professionals to the Japanese market.
Seven years after the country’s only bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA) entered into force, the Philippine negotiators are now preparing to meet with their Japanese counterparts anew for the renegotiation of the deal next year. The Philippines’s goal is to improve market access of the country’s agricultural exports and expand the coverage.
Trade Assistant Secretary for Industry Development and Trade Policy Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the review of the Jpepa is slated for the first quarter of 2016, which was confirmed by Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. in a separate interview.
Jpepa review
Cristobal said the Philippines wants to push for the inclusion of agricultural products currently not in the original economic-partnership agreement.
“There are two aspects to the review, one is on the implementation side [the schedule on tariff reductions], and the other is both sides want to renegotiate some tariff lines, those that weren’t covered by the Jpepa. On our part we have a strong interest in other agricultural products and for them, they are interested in certain industrials and services—automobiles being the obvious one,” Cristobal said.
Cristobal, however, did not provide specifics on the new agricultural products that may be included in the review.
Another trade official added that the existing agricultural products covered—such as bananas, pineapples and frozen chicken—will also be set for renegotiation, as the Philippines has already maximized the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) imposed on these agricultural exports to Japan.
“We have to get additional access for these products because we already maximized our offensive interest in this area,” said the trade official, who asked not to be named.
The TRQ is a trade-policy tool used to protect domestically produced commodities by the importing market, while conceding that certain negotiated quantities may be expected by the parties to be charged lower import duties.
PHL bananas losing
In the Jpepa, Tokyo is imposing TRQs on fresh pineapples, fresh bananas and poultry meat cuts from the Philippines.
Philippine banana producers have been pushing specifically for tariff elimination for banana exports, due to the disadvantage it now faces with Japan lowering to zero the tariffs on banana imports from other countries.
Japan has successfully negotiated with a slew of other countries—namely Costa Rica, Indonesia, Mozambique and Vietnam—for economic partnerships and bilateral FTAs, allowing these countries’ banana exports to enter Japan at zero duty.
Philippine banana exports to Japan are still slapped with a tariff ranging from 8 percent to 18 percent, causing a slowdown in export volume.
Movement of natural persons
Aside from agricultural exports, the Philippines is targeting to also renegotiate a pertinent area in the Jpepa that will enhance the country’s position as a major source of talent for Japan: the movement of natural persons.
An item specifically sought by the Philippines in the agreement is the entry of Filipino caregivers and nurses to the Northeast Asian country, considering the Japan’s aging population and dearth of labor supply in health care.
Even as the Philippines deployment of workers has gradually shifted from entertainers to healthcare workers since Jpepa was enforced, the licensure process is proving to be a challenge for Filipinos.
“Prior to Jpepa, you can’t practice that [health care] profession there. What we were sending then were entertainers; but we have already changed that. The entry of skilled labor to Japan is a long-term project, but at least we already got to deploy nurses. A problem is in passing the licensure exams; that’s a challenge,” Rodolfo said.
Under the Jpepa, for the Filipino nurses to gain entry to Japan, they must have completed three years of training in the Philippines. For them to be eligible to take the licensure exam, they must have had a minimum stay of six months in Japan for language training.
Difficult licensure exams
Despite moves by both governments to facilitate their entry to Japan, few Filipino nurses have been able to maximize the opportunity because of the difficult licensure exams.
According to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), from 2009 to 2011, 160 Filipino candidate-nurses took the Japanese National Examination for Nurses.
Of the 160, only 15 had passed the licensure exams, with the Philippines putting forward only one successful examinee each in the second and third batches. From 2011 onward, the passing rate has somewhat increased, said the Dole.
According to the DOLE, from 2009 to 2014, only a total of 64 Filipino nurses have passed the Japan’s national licensure exams.
To improve the number, Rodolfo said additional training will be needed. The Department of Trade and Industry, together with the DOLE, will be looking at a “new model” for training programs. The aim is to intensify the program set for Filipino candidate-nurses here in the country, before they leave for Japan.
Still in the area of movement of natural persons, Rodolfo said the time is ripe to look at other categories of professions to maximize the opportunities presented by the Jpepa in accessing the Japanese labor market.
English teachers
“In the movement of natural persons, particularly, we want to improve further the framework, or the mechanisms, for the deployment of health-care professionals and extending that to other skilled professionals, such as engineering, and opening other categories like construction,” Rodolfo said.
An opportunity that could possibly be explored is in the area of education in view of Japan’s hosting of the 2020 Olympics, the trade official added. With increased interaction and engagement of Japanese nationals during the international sporting event, educational institutions are now building up capacity to ramp up the English speaking and comprehension skills of their students.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, cience & Technology of Japan has drafted an education-reform plan enhancing the country’s English education from 2014 to 2020 throughout elementary to lower/secondary school.
Filipinos’ proficiency, not just in English but in language instruction, makes them a viable option, aside from the fact that their counterpart educators in Canada and North America present a higher cost for the Japanese government, Rodolfo said.
“Right now, we see that as an opportunity,” said Rodolfo, noting that a licensure exam for English teaching is not a requirement, thus, making it accessible for more workers.
No toxic wastes
Moreover, it would seem that the warnings of environmental groups on the influx of toxic wastes into the country after the Jpepa has not happened, for now.
The Philippine Institute for Development Studies affirmed this fact in a policy note titled “Jpepa: Highlights of an Initial Ex-Post Review” by Veredigna M. Ledda and Erlinda M. Medalla.
According to the note: “Concerns were raised about the potential serious negative impacts of opening up the economy as a result of the Jpepa, particularly significant dislocation in the ‘sensitive’ automotive and other sectors, and environmental disasters, such as dumping of toxic waste. Data show that none of the dire scenarios imagined have materialized.”