The Philippines will push Japan to eliminate tariffs on local bananas during trade talks from October 23 to 26, as both countries work toward concluding a review of their economic partnership agreement by November.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque said the negotiations team, led by the agency’s Bureau of International Trade Relations (BITR), would travel to Japan for the discussions, which could be the final round if both sides make sufficient progress.
‘Possibly, if all goes well, that will be the last,’ Roque told reporters on the sidelines of the second Association of Southeast Asian Nations-China Business Leaders Summit on Monday in Pasay.
Another round may be needed depending on the outcome, she added. The trade chief said she had already spoken with Japan’s trade minister and other officials ahead of the talks.
The Philippines is seeking to lower Japan’s seasonal duties on bananas, which currently range from 8 percent to 18 percent under the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA).
The tariff is 18 percent from April to September and 8 percent from October to March.
‘Definitely bananas on our side,’ Roque said, describing the fruit as one of the key Philippine industries the government wants to advance in the negotiations.
‘We’re hoping to bring it down… to zero, or at least lower the eight.’
China and Japan remain major export markets for Philippine bananas, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The Philippines supplies about 75 percent to 80 percent of Japan’s banana imports, making access to the Japanese market a significant concern for local exporters.
Signed in 2006 and effective since December 2008, the PJEPA was the Philippines’ first bilateral economic partnership agreement.
Its current general review covers market-access concerns across a range of products, although bananas remain a key Philippine priority.