ID :
160390
Fri, 02/11/2011 - 16:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/160390
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Japan, Australia agree to work for early FTA deals
SYDNEY, Feb. 11 Kyodo - Japan and Australia agreed Friday to work on striking deals at an early date through ongoing thorny negotiations over a bilateral free trade agreement during meetings involving their trade ministers as well as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Japanese officials said.
Gillard said during a meeting with visiting Japanese trade minister Banri Kaieda that she is arranging to visit Japan in late April to discuss the trade issue, the officials said.
Kaieda and his Australian counterpart Craig Emerson in a separate meeting recognized that the two countries are faced with ''challenges to be overcome'' and thus need to make more efforts over negotiations over the issue of eliminating tariffs on farm products, a sticking point in the bilateral talks.
During their meeting in Sydney, the first bilateral trade ministerial talks since 2009, Emerson briefed Kaieda on the latest developments in negotiations involving Australia and eight other countries over a TPP agreement.
Kaieda told Emerson of Japan's policy that the country will decide by around June whether to join the nine countries in the negotiations over the TPP. Toward that end Japan will implement measures to deal with issues related to agricultural products, Kaieda said.
Kaieda and Emerson met a day after the two countries finished the latest round of working-level free trade negotiations in Tokyo, which took place for the first time in 10 months, with little progress.
The course of bilateral free trade talks with Australia could affect Japan's decision regarding whether to join the TPP negotiations, which are believed to be pursuing a higher level of trade liberalization than seen in current bilateral FTAs, such as by requiring member economies in principle to scrap all tariffs.
The TPP negotiations, which have been built around a regional free trade agreement that took effect in 2006 among Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore, are under way to expand the framework to include five other Asia-Pacific countries.
The Japanese government has been faced with strong opposition from domestic farmers who fear they may be hard hit by an influx of cheap agricultural imports if Japan joins the high-level pact.
Kaieda also met with Martin Ferguson, minister for resources and energy, and confirmed the two countries will cooperate so Australia can stably supply natural resources such as rare earth minerals and uranium to Japan.
Kaieda is scheduled to leave Australia on Saturday.
Gillard said during a meeting with visiting Japanese trade minister Banri Kaieda that she is arranging to visit Japan in late April to discuss the trade issue, the officials said.
Kaieda and his Australian counterpart Craig Emerson in a separate meeting recognized that the two countries are faced with ''challenges to be overcome'' and thus need to make more efforts over negotiations over the issue of eliminating tariffs on farm products, a sticking point in the bilateral talks.
During their meeting in Sydney, the first bilateral trade ministerial talks since 2009, Emerson briefed Kaieda on the latest developments in negotiations involving Australia and eight other countries over a TPP agreement.
Kaieda told Emerson of Japan's policy that the country will decide by around June whether to join the nine countries in the negotiations over the TPP. Toward that end Japan will implement measures to deal with issues related to agricultural products, Kaieda said.
Kaieda and Emerson met a day after the two countries finished the latest round of working-level free trade negotiations in Tokyo, which took place for the first time in 10 months, with little progress.
The course of bilateral free trade talks with Australia could affect Japan's decision regarding whether to join the TPP negotiations, which are believed to be pursuing a higher level of trade liberalization than seen in current bilateral FTAs, such as by requiring member economies in principle to scrap all tariffs.
The TPP negotiations, which have been built around a regional free trade agreement that took effect in 2006 among Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore, are under way to expand the framework to include five other Asia-Pacific countries.
The Japanese government has been faced with strong opposition from domestic farmers who fear they may be hard hit by an influx of cheap agricultural imports if Japan joins the high-level pact.
Kaieda also met with Martin Ferguson, minister for resources and energy, and confirmed the two countries will cooperate so Australia can stably supply natural resources such as rare earth minerals and uranium to Japan.
Kaieda is scheduled to leave Australia on Saturday.
