EU Reports On Latest Round Of Japan FTA Talks

As part of its commitment to a more transparent trade policy, the European Commission has published a report summarizing the progress made during the latest round of trade talks with Japan.

The 18th round of EU-Japan free trade agreement/economic partnership agreement (FTA/EPA) negotiations took place in Tokyo in the first week of April. Some working groups also held additional meetings in the weeks immediately preceding and following the main negotiating round.

The report details the progress made in all areas of negotiations, namely: trade in goods, non-tariff measures, rules of origin, trade in services, procurement, intellectual property, and other issues.

On the trade front, negotiators discussed industrial products, in particular car and leather products. They also discussed how to structure negotiators' work on agricultural products and forestry issues.

As regards rules for trade in goods, the two sides discussed issues such as origin marking and the classification of goods. The European Commission said that there are some outstanding issues that the EU and Japan will address in the coming weeks.

The trade in services sessions focused on the scope of the cross-border trade in services chapter. This text is now almost entirely agreed. The Commission said that substantial progress was also made on the public procurement and intellectual property rights chapters.

The FTA talks began in March 2013, and both sides have committed to concluding negotiations this year. Japan is the EU's second-largest trading partner in Asia after China.

Source: Tax News