Japan proposes starting FTA talks in spring+

SEOUL, Nov. 12 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan in a meeting with European Union leaders
Friday proposed starting talks on a free trade agreement next spring, a
Japanese official said.
During Kan's talks with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Seoul, the two sides
agreed to make efforts to reach a formal agreement to launch negotiations for
an FTA, the official said.
Van Rompuy and Barroso proposed that relevant ministers from the two sides such
as foreign and trade chiefs gather following the next round of high-level talks
to make their respective positions clear, prior to the Japan-EU summit planned
for next spring in Europe, the official said.
The next high-level meeting is likely to be held by the end of the year, he said.
Kan agreed to the idea, telling the EU leaders that Tokyo will try to create an
environment for such a discussion.
With regard to nontariff barriers, a key EU concern, Kan told the EU leaders
that Japan has been making progress in some areas and pledged to step up
efforts to remove such trade obstacles.
During the meeting, held on the fringe of the Group of 20 summit, Barroso also
called on Japan to make efforts to promote deregulation in government
procurement and other trade areas, the official said.
Barroso added that the European Union wants to continue discussing the matter
in high-level talks with Japan and said that it needs a strong commitment from
Tokyo, the official said.
Kan told the EU leaders that Japan is doing its utmost in addressing
deregulation from a perspective of eliminating unnecessary regulations, the
official added.
Kan also briefed Van Rompuy and Barroso about the Japanese government's policy
of boosting free trade agreements, which his Cabinet endorsed recently, and
told them that Tokyo plans to proceed with steps to join a U.S.-backed
trans-Pacific free trade pact.
The EU leaders gave no specific response to the premier's remarks, according to
the official.
Tokyo hopes to strike a deal with the European Union after South Korea did so
last month.
South Korea's FTA with the European Union, which will take effect next July,
has fueled concerns in Japan that its businesses will fall behind their South
Korean rivals in competitiveness.
But even if Japan and the European Union formally agree to enter negotiations,
difficulties likely lie ahead as the two sides still have many issues to tackle
such as nontariff barriers and the treatment of agricultural products,
observers said.
While calling Japan one of its strategic partners along with the United States,
China and Russia, the European Union has been calling for the removal of
nontariff barriers as a condition for pursuing economic partnership talks.
==Kyodo
2010-11-12 23:47:01


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next