The government is negotiating lower tariffs on banana exports to Japan as a stopgap measure before the country secures zero duties through its potential membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said he recently engaged with his Japanese counterpart to once again appeal the country’s request to amend the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).

Tiu Laurel said this is the third time he has raised the need to introduce changes to JPEPA, particularly to address the tariffs imposed on Philippine banana exports.

Under JPEPA, Japan imposes an eight-percent tariff on bananas shipped from the Philippines between October and March, and a higher duty of 18 percent from April to September.

The government has long pushed for amendments to the agreement, as Japan is the largest market for Philippine bananas, accounting for around 75 percent of total exports.

The country’s dominance of the Japanese market, however, has been declining in recent years as countries with lower tariffs flood the market with banana exports.

“We reiterated our request that our bananas be granted a lower tariff. This is because other countries, such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Mexico, are already moving toward zero tariffs,” Tiu Laurel said in an interview.

For now, he said the government is not requesting zero tariffs but is instead seeking to lower duties to between five and eight percent.

“So their response was somewhat positive, and we will wait for their study on how this can be done,” he noted.

This is essentially a temporary measure for the government, as it expects to attain zero tariffs on banana exports through accession to the 12-member CPTPP.

The Philippines applied to join CPTPP in August last year.

The government expects the country’s accession request to be approved within the year.

Tiu Laurel said Japan has agreed to support the Philippines’ bid to join CPTPP.

He noted that it would take roughly two years before the country can officially become a member of the bloc. In the meantime, he said the government aims to fulfill all CPTPP requirements before the accession process formally begins.

For its part, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is working to comply with the provisions of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), one of CPTPP’s requirements.

“So we have to follow certain conditions that all CPTPP members also comply with,” Tiu Laurel said.

CPTPP is composed of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom (UK).

Under CPTPP, members benefit from more liberalized trade, including zero tariffs on a wide range of goods, consistent standards, and improved investment facilitation.