Today in history: Laurel-Langley Agreement signed by US and Philippines

 

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Senator Jose P. Laurel shakes hands with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Walter S. Robertson as James M. Langley smiles in the background

The Laurel-Langley Agreement was signed and approved by both the American and Philippine governments on September 6, 1955. Senator Jose P Laurel and James M Langley negotiated terms of the agreement in December, 1954.

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The treaty was a revised US-Filipino trade agreement replacing the outdated Bell Trade Act. The prior act became unpopular amongst Filipino nationalists due to the provisions which tied the Philippines economy to the US economy.

The agreement took effect on January 1, 1956. The same agreement expired in 1974 and overall it abolished the US authority to control the exchange rate of the Filipino peso.

The agreement also extended the sugar quota, the time period for the reduction of other quotas, made parity privileges reciprocal and help reduce tariffs on Philippine goods that were exported to the US at that time.

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