Philippines Struggle To Pass Japan Trade Deal

By Stewart Douglas

The government of the Philippines is engaged in a political battle with the opposition-ruled senate in trying to ratify an influential trade agreement with Japan.

The trade agreement linking the two nations is thought to be worth an estimated $4 billion, with the potential to generate in excess of 300,000 new jobs over the next few years.

However, opposition in the senate have been quick to criticise the agreement, claiming it could pave the way for Japanese waste to be dumped on the Philippines.

The Philippine government have fiercely denied claims from the opposition that the agreement would require the nation to accept toxic waste from its regional neighbour, stating that it had made a point of demanding no such commitment form part of the agreement.

However, the opposition parties are staunch in their belief that to ratify the agreement would be to sign over the responsibility of accepting waste from the larger Japanese economy.

If the move were to be ratified, it would see the conclusion of the second trade agreement in as many days for Japan, further expanding the Asian free-trade crusade over recent years which has proven so successful for the economy of the region.

Alongside reducing trade barriers between the two nations, Japan has added that it intends to employ in the region of 1,000 nurses from the Philippines within its health sector over the next few years.

Additionally, the agreement has attracted interest of investment from major Japanese companies, poised to enter Philippine markets for food and textile production.

Japan is cemented as the Philippines’ second largest trade partner, behind the US, buying much of Philippines fruit and vegetable exports year on year.

Whilst the arrangement would prove economically worthwhile, opposition leaders are seizing the opportunity to politically damage their opponents, resulting in the current deadlock.