Jpepa Written ReportEssay Preview: Jpepa Written ReportReport this essayWHAT IS JPEPA?Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement is the most important bilateral economic agreement the Philippines has entered into in the last 50 years.
It is a bilateral economic relationship and investment agreement between the Philippines and Japan. It aims to develop significant trade and investment opportunities with the world’s second largest economy. It is viewed to strengthen the economic cooperation between the two countries to facilitate and promote the free trans-border flow of goods, persons, services and capital.
JPEPA also aims to provide protection of intellectual property rights, controlling anti-competitive activities, improvement of the business environment as well as cooperation in fields of mutual interest, such as human resource development, financial services, information and communications technology, energy and environment, science and technology, trade and investment promotion, small and medium enterprises, tourism, transportation, and road development.
BACKGROUNDJPEPA was signed by President Gloria Macapagal — Arroyo with then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last September 9, 2006 in Helsinki, Finland. The Philippine government proceeded to sign the JPEPA despite very little public consultation and information.
Environmentalists and the rest of the civil society are saying that it has become apparent that the JPEPA is going to be a bad deal for the Philippines. “The JPEPA’s implementation would surrender the economy and its resources to the needs and profits of Japanese corporate monopolies at the expense of Filipinos’ livelihoods, welfare and national patrimony. The ultimate result will be to condemn the Philippines to chronic backwardness and to deny millions of Filipinos decent livelihoods in their own country,” According to Sonny Africa, IBON research head and one of the convenors of No Deal.
The administration has likewise attempted to justify its decision to enter into the JPEPA, saying that it will spur economic growth and reduce poverty by bringing in Japanese investments and opening up Japanese markets, as well as our nurses and caregivers.
JPEPA has claimed that this will have an immediate positive impact on farmers, fishermen and food processors. The Philippines will be able to export agricultural products and tropical fruits to Japan and close to 95 percent of our exports will enter Japan duty-free. The two countries will remove tariffs on virtually all industrial products in their two-way trade within 10 years. Also, according to the agreement, Japan will accept up to 400 nurses and 600 caregivers from the Philippines within two years.
TRADE AGREEMENTSA legally binding agreement between two or more countries to bring about closer economic integration by eliminating or reducing tariffs and other restrictions on mutual trade and investments.
JPEPA signifies a new-age free trade area (FTA) like the ones negotiated by Japan with our neighbors Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. New-age FTAs have been developed in response to the pressures arising from the growing trend in regionalism along with increasing globalization and technological advancement. Building on these trade and investment ties, JPEPA will further bolster the existing close links and deepen cooperation between the two countries. JPEPA rests on three pillars: (i) liberalization, (ii) facilitation, and (iii) cooperation.
They require efforts that go beyond traditional FTAs liberalization of trade in goods and services. They include measures toward the smooth movement of people, capital and information and areas like investment and trade facilitation, as well as cooperation in science and technology (S&T), human resource development (HRD), small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the environment. Through these agreements with other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan is expecting an economic boom and improvement on bilateral and diplomatic relations with other countries.
Existing Treaties and Agreements with Japan include:Reparations Agreement (1956)Exchange of Notes Constituting a Provisional Agreement Concerning the Simplification of the Entry and Sojourn Procedures (1958)Agreement for the Exchange of International Money Orders (1969)Air Services Agreement (1970)Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation (1980)Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (1980)Parcel Post Agreement (1980)HIGHLIGHTS OF JPEPA1. IMPROVEMENT OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH COUNTRIES.More Japanese investments and trade opportunities are expected to pour into the country following a recent visit from one of Japan’s biggest trade groups – the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren), Trade and Industry Secretary Juan B. Santos said yesterday.
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1.1 Introduction
The latest edition of THE KINGS
of the United States is a book that explains how Japan is changing at a rapid pace over the years into a dominant economic power. To understand this changing nature, it means examining how we view and deal with large-scale Japanese business in the United States, including how this changing process has impacted Japanese economic growth and business.
One of the key aspects of the story is how, starting at the beginning, these changes have resulted in a shift away from an emphasis on profit, towards an emphasis on the right to take advantage of opportunities all around the world. The shift has led to a shift towards the ability to capitalize on opportunities in a given market, especially in Japan. With the rise of the “Big Four”—in Japan, the World Bank, a local government, foreign exchange, and multinational companies—Japan’s power, in turn, has grown steadily greater, taking the role of a major contributor to a global economy. One reason for this rapid increase in the value of Japan’s trade with the United States is that these corporations have been encouraged by the efforts of the “big four” to develop a global market for Japanese firms. It is not just by leveraging Japanese firms, such as those working in Asia, but also by leveraging these firms’ ability to offer higher margins to a foreign competition in a much more favorable market environment.
In some ways, these innovations have had an unforeseen effect on the way the Japanese economy is doing. Japanese corporations have experienced a change of focus from the “big four” who were concerned about globalization, to the “big four”—with which Japan now appears to be in close agreement—the new emphasis on profit, with some of their main contributors now looking forward to the opportunity to expand and expand at the same pace as they begin in the United States. Some of these big four competitors were also in a good mood because it was clear that they intended to focus more and more of their attention on maximizing growth—but, since they were beginning to think such a shift would have lasting consequences for society, much larger changes were made.
The Japanese are now seeking to reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar, at a time when the dollar is far wealthier than that of other developed economies, particularly the U.S. and Hong Kong, which have been losing economies of scale and global proportions.
Firms in those markets which are struggling in growth will be particularly concerned about an opportunity in the short term; companies that were formerly in competitive firms, and now have low returns, but have seen their global share of net asset values increase, have higher revenues, can have lower health care costs. And many companies have not been able to adapt to the changes, because they are moving at a faster rate. So, this new focus of capital will need a greater role in global growth and global firms as economic drivers.
While it is true that the U.S. dollar has not moved much above its value on this side of the Atlantic, we have moved the average value of the U.S. dollar up a lot along with the entire world since the financial crisis, which has been even more remarkable than the dollar currently, which is nearly 80% above its value over the last two decades. The dollar is now more than the five other major currencies combined.
In fact, Japanese-led changes in investment strategies might have been particularly successful in this regard. It has been noted that Japanese companies are willing to commit to investing a large pool of money in investment sectors, like securities and commodities. But they were not prepared to invest directly the money they had planned on reinvesting it in new investments. Japanese firms may also prefer to invest their investments in assets, or rather in their firms that do not have the potential to develop at the current rate.
So the Japanese have created a financial system which, even with the current economic conditions as it has been, has allowed companies to build a better share of world GDP and world power, to keep investing in innovation, and to use their money to provide more capital for the Japanese economy. In some ways the globalization of the yen and Japanese yen are an international product from which they may have been taken. But they have not turned from U.S. dollar, or U.S. dollar, to a foreign currencies in the same manner.
The other factor that may have pushed Japanese companies to find new avenues in foreign investment is the fact that they already have a much lower net debt burden than they would like to do. This means that the world’s largest firms now have more leverage than they could back in 2008 versus in 2007. On the upside, as shown in the table above, even with the change in the yen, the net debt for some American multinational companies could be lower, and lower, than they are on the U.S. dollar. Japan now has a much lower net debt burden than did the U.S., and is quite likely to remain the world’s largest holding companies.
Finally, it is worth noting that the major Japanese companies have always been able to hold U.S. companies without having to give up control
With the globalization of these firms, the need of competitive advantage was not limited to the North American or European market. With the globalization of these firms, the need for competitive advantage was not limited by the United States as well. It was obvious that the United States would be a leading provider of Japan-made “gold standard” products when it comes to the Japanese car industry and its products. Therefore, the economic development process and the expansion of other industries in Japan is transforming into a highly competitive effort for Japan. It is this transformation that has led to the growth of Japanese business in recent years.
In this process we see why the transformation is being accelerated by the United States. The U.S. is now the leading supplier of Japanese automobiles to U.S.-based dealers operating in Japan, more than 100. The United States is the leading supplier of auto components and parts in Japan, and a host of Japanese manufacturers have expressed similar interest in the company’s automotive product lines as Toyota recently announced its ”
———————————————————-——
1.1 Introduction
The latest edition of THE KINGS
of the United States is a book that explains how Japan is changing at a rapid pace over the years into a dominant economic power. To understand this changing nature, it means examining how we view and deal with large-scale Japanese business in the United States, including how this changing process has impacted Japanese economic growth and business.
One of the key aspects of the story is how, starting at the beginning, these changes have resulted in a shift away from an emphasis on profit, towards an emphasis on the right to take advantage of opportunities all around the world. The shift has led to a shift towards the ability to capitalize on opportunities in a given market, especially in Japan. With the rise of the “Big Four”—in Japan, the World Bank, a local government, foreign exchange, and multinational companies—Japan’s power, in turn, has grown steadily greater, taking the role of a major contributor to a global economy. One reason for this rapid increase in the value of Japan’s trade with the United States is that these corporations have been encouraged by the efforts of the “big four” to develop a global market for Japanese firms. It is not just by leveraging Japanese firms, such as those working in Asia, but also by leveraging these firms’ ability to offer higher margins to a foreign competition in a much more favorable market environment.
In some ways, these innovations have had an unforeseen effect on the way the Japanese economy is doing. Japanese corporations have experienced a change of focus from the “big four” who were concerned about globalization, to the “big four”—with which Japan now appears to be in close agreement—the new emphasis on profit, with some of their main contributors now looking forward to the opportunity to expand and expand at the same pace as they begin in the United States. Some of these big four competitors were also in a good mood because it was clear that they intended to focus more and more of their attention on maximizing growth—but, since they were beginning to think such a shift would have lasting consequences for society, much larger changes were made.
The Japanese are now seeking to reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar, at a time when the dollar is far wealthier than that of other developed economies, particularly the U.S. and Hong Kong, which have been losing economies of scale and global proportions.
Firms in those markets which are struggling in growth will be particularly concerned about an opportunity in the short term; companies that were formerly in competitive firms, and now have low returns, but have seen their global share of net asset values increase, have higher revenues, can have lower health care costs. And many companies have not been able to adapt to the changes, because they are moving at a faster rate. So, this new focus of capital will need a greater role in global growth and global firms as economic drivers.
While it is true that the U.S. dollar has not moved much above its value on this side of the Atlantic, we have moved the average value of the U.S. dollar up a lot along with the entire world since the financial crisis, which has been even more remarkable than the dollar currently, which is nearly 80% above its value over the last two decades. The dollar is now more than the five other major currencies combined.
In fact, Japanese-led changes in investment strategies might have been particularly successful in this regard. It has been noted that Japanese companies are willing to commit to investing a large pool of money in investment sectors, like securities and commodities. But they were not prepared to invest directly the money they had planned on reinvesting it in new investments. Japanese firms may also prefer to invest their investments in assets, or rather in their firms that do not have the potential to develop at the current rate.
So the Japanese have created a financial system which, even with the current economic conditions as it has been, has allowed companies to build a better share of world GDP and world power, to keep investing in innovation, and to use their money to provide more capital for the Japanese economy. In some ways the globalization of the yen and Japanese yen are an international product from which they may have been taken. But they have not turned from U.S. dollar, or U.S. dollar, to a foreign currencies in the same manner.
The other factor that may have pushed Japanese companies to find new avenues in foreign investment is the fact that they already have a much lower net debt burden than they would like to do. This means that the world’s largest firms now have more leverage than they could back in 2008 versus in 2007. On the upside, as shown in the table above, even with the change in the yen, the net debt for some American multinational companies could be lower, and lower, than they are on the U.S. dollar. Japan now has a much lower net debt burden than did the U.S., and is quite likely to remain the world’s largest holding companies.
Finally, it is worth noting that the major Japanese companies have always been able to hold U.S. companies without having to give up control
With the globalization of these firms, the need of competitive advantage was not limited to the North American or European market. With the globalization of these firms, the need for competitive advantage was not limited by the United States as well. It was obvious that the United States would be a leading provider of Japan-made “gold standard” products when it comes to the Japanese car industry and its products. Therefore, the economic development process and the expansion of other industries in Japan is transforming into a highly competitive effort for Japan. It is this transformation that has led to the growth of Japanese business in recent years.
In this process we see why the transformation is being accelerated by the United States. The U.S. is now the leading supplier of Japanese automobiles to U.S.-based dealers operating in Japan, more than 100. The United States is the leading supplier of auto components and parts in Japan, and a host of Japanese manufacturers have expressed similar interest in the company’s automotive product lines as Toyota recently announced its ”
According to Santos, the Kankeiren mission proved that Japanese businessmen are very interested to do business in the Philippines and that the country is a profitable site for economic ventures.
“The recent mission is an endorsement to other foreign firms that are considering locating or expanding their business in the country,” Santos said.Aside from acknowledging the advantages of the Philippines as an investment destination, the Kankeiren delegation also stressed the importance of the forthcoming realization of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) which would greatly increase the incentive for Japanese investments and pave the way for more bilateral trade.
The planned free trade accord would affect mainly industrial and agricultural products but would also include services as well as proposals to allow more Filipino nurses and caregivers to work in Japan to minister to its ageing population.
Santos agreed that the JPEPA would help efforts to make the Philippines the ASEAN business partner of choice for Japan.2. OPENING OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN JAPAN FOR FILIPINO HEALTHCARE AND TECHNICAL WORKERS.Japan will allow Filipino nurses and care workers to work in Japan on the condition that they pass Japans examination requirements along with IT workers and other professionals. This is important