ISDS Case Map
Japan
The US is a much better free-trade partner for Korea than China or Japan, where issues of race and historical animosities would make an agreement difficult, Korea's chief negotiator in free-trade talks with the US said Thursday.
The Supreme Court of the Philippines has no jurisdiction to issue a ruling on a petition filed by party-list group Akbayan seeking to stop the government from signing a bilateral trade pact with Japan without a full disclosure of its provisions to the public.
Washington's ambassador to Japan on Wednesday added his voice to those calling for closer economic integration between the world's two biggest economies, though he stopped short of formally proposing talks aimed at the conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement.
The Philippines and Japan are moving towards adopting arbitration procedures in settling disputes to avoid lengthy and expensive court battles in protecting investments from both sides as they finalize their proposed bilateral free trade pact.
Thailand's Permanent Secretary for Commerce Karun Kittisataporn said the Thai-Japanese FTA will be signed only after the new Thai government takes office. This almost certainly means next year, as the new general election is likely to be put off until later this year.
Discussions on the labor component of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) finally moved forward after Japan agreed to a non-quota deployment of Filipino nurses and caregivers, a labor official said.
Australia and Japan expect to launch negotiations on a free trade deal late this year or early in 2007, Trade Minister Mark Vaile said.
Energy resource-poor Japan is turning to a free-trade agreement, or FTA, with oil and gas-rich trading partners to secure stable supplies to fuel the world's second largest economy.
Having concluded free trade agreements with SAARC, Singapore and Thailand, India is pursuing similar arrangements with several other Asian countries, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said here on Friday.
South Korea's finance minister says the country will seek to resume its stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan after wrapping up a pact with the United States.
