ID :
279068
Wed, 03/27/2013 - 02:55
Auther :

Japan, China, S. Korea Launch FTA Talks

Seoul, March 26 (Jiji Press)--Japan, China and South Korea launched the first round of negotiations here on Tuesday for concluding a free trade agreement among the three Asian nations which together account for some 20 pct of the world's gross domestic product. Japan's political relations with China and South Korea have been strained due to territorial issues over islands in the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan, respectively. But Tokyo aims to continue economic dialogue with the two neighbors as the three economies are increasingly dependent on one another in trade and investment. For Japan, China has become the biggest export market. Tokyo apparently hopes that the FTA talks will help mend its soured relations with China and South Korea. The three nations aim to strike an FTA deal as early as possible although no clear deadline has been set. In the first round, set to last three days until Thursday, the countries will discuss how to proceed with the negotiations and areas other than trade and investment that would be covered in the three-way talks. The key would be whether to include the environment and the protection of intellectual property rights. "Economic integration among Japan, China and South Korea is important to East Asia and the rest of the world," said Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Koji Tsuruoka, who serves as the nation's chief representative in the FTA negotiations. An FTA would bring a lot of benefits to the people, economies and industries of the three nations, Tsuruoka emphasized. China currently imposes tariffs on about 70 pct of all products imported from Japan, such as automobiles, machinery and chemical products. The proportion stands at some 60 pct for Japanese items exported to South Korea. Japan plans to request China and South Korea to eliminate or reduce their tariffs for as many items as possible. In discussions on investment and services trade, Japan and South Korea are expected to request China to take market-opening measures. Meanwhile, Japan is likely to be urged by China and South Korea to open its markets for rice and other agricultural items protected by high tariffs. END

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