MANILA: The Philippines will seek this Friday the removal of quotas and tariffs on its key agricultural exports such as bananas and pineapples under the first review of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (Pjepa).
“We will seek additional concessions. We will push for the removal of tariffs on bananas, pineapples, yakitori, tuna and skipjack. Most of these products are of relevance to Mindanao, meaning they are largely produced in the region. These products are currently covered by the agreement but the preferential tariffs we got [under the] Pjepa are more inferior compared to the latest FTAs signed by Japan,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said in a briefing Monday.
“It is critical for us to get [the concessions] for agricultural products,” he added.
According to Rodolfo, the Philippines would urge the removal of quotas on chicken, for instance, so localexporters could ship more of such products to Japan. The same goes for pineapples, which are subject to a quota, and bananas, which are slapped with seasonaltariffs.
