Question & AnswerQ&A (PROCLAMATION NO. 216)
Republic Act No. 1355 authorizes the President of the Philippines to enter into an agreement with the President of the United States for the revision of the 1946 Trade Agreement between the Philippines and the United States prior to January 1, 1956.
The revised trade agreement must be entered into before January 1, 1956, and the agreement becomes effective and binding on the Philippines from that date.
The original Trade Agreement was entered into on July 4, 1946.
The Presidents of the Philippines and the United States signed the revised agreement through their respective plenipotentiaries on September 6, 1955.
The revised agreement includes the main Agreement, a Protocol, Annexes, and related exchange of notes all dated September 6, 1955.
Section 3 of Republic Act No. 1355 requires the President to proclaim the revised agreement if entered into prior to January 1, 1956.
The President of the United States proclaimed the revised agreement, including the Protocol, Annexes, and related exchange of notes, pursuant to the Philippine Trade Agreement Revision Act of 1955.
The proclamation officially makes the revised trade agreement effective and binding in the Philippines, and its provisions must be observed and fulfilled in good faith by the Philippines and its citizens starting January 1, 1956.
The exchange of notes clarified certain provisions of the revised agreement concerning trade and related matters during the transitional period following Philippine independence.
The Act of Congress of the United States known as the Philippine Trade Agreement Revision Act of 1955 authorized the proclamation.