ISDS Case Map
Philippines
The Philippines has formally proposed to the US for a phased-in bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) starting out with the garment and textile sector in an effort to protect the country's advantages in this sector in the US market, which accounts for over 70 percent of the country's total garment exports.
Local leaders expressed differing views on whether the Philippines has the capacity to enter into a bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA) with the United States or be lumped together with its Asean neighbors in a region-wide FTA agreement.
Japan and the Philippines plan to conclude their bilateral free trade agreement in September and put it into effect by the end of 2007, it was learned Wednesday.
In the wake of the collapse of the Doha talks in the World Trade Organization (WTO), negotiations for the Philippines to enter into an Asia-Pacific free trade agreement (FTA) have become more urgent for industrialized countries. But independent think-tank IBON Foundation warns that entering into an FTA could be even more dangerous than liberalization under the WTO.
The figures show Thais are winning with free trade - yet many of the nation's small farmers, struggling just to scrape by, are looking to lessons learned around the world.
Philippine trade negotiators must right away ask the US not to include the Philippines in the list of 13 developing countries slated to lose their General System of Preferences (GSP) so as not to disrupt the momentum of exports to the country's top market.
While 23 July marked the 50th anniversary of bilateral friendship between Japan and the Philippines, Tokyo has decided not to use the occasion to conclude a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) with a fellow Asian country.
A contingent of local garments exporters is in Washington to seek support from United States Congress for a possible sectoral preferential trade deal.
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.
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.
