EU/Japan: EPA talks depend on tariff progress
Daily Yomirui | Jun. 13, 2012
EU: EPA talks depend on tariff progress
BRUSSELS (Jiji Press)—The European Commission will suspend planned talks with Japan on a bilateral economic partnership agreement if Tokyo fails to remove nontariff trade barriers as it pledged, a senior member of the commission said Monday.
The executive body of the European Union and the Japanese government finished last month their preliminary talks on the free trade pact. In the talks, Japan agreed to open domestic markets in accordance with a road map.
The commission will examine progress in Japan’s market liberalization a year after the start of full negotiations, and stop the talks if the results are not satisfactory, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said.
Tokyo thinks an EPA with the European Union is particularly beneficial for the domestic auto industry.
But the European Union will not scrap tariffs on imported Japanese vehicles until Japan presents tangible results in deregulation, De Gucht said.
The two sides have agreed that the European Union will reduce tariffs to zero in tandem with Japan’s market opening, he added.
To start the trade liberalization talks with Japan, the commission has to gain approval of all 27 EU member states.
