Japan should consider free trade agreement with US
Bloomberg | 10 May 2007
Japan Should Consider Free Trade Agreement With U.S.
By Keiichi Yamamura and Kiyori Ueno
May 10 (Bloomberg) — Japan needs to consider the possibility of signing a free trade agreement with the U.S., the country’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said today.
Members of the government’s key economic panel earlier this week suggested that Japan should push for a trade agreement with the U.S. to reduce duties and investment barriers. The panel discussed the plan again at a meeting yesterday.
We must take into consideration the implication of an agreement in light of the global and domestic impact,'' Shiozaki said at a regular press conference in Tokyo.The two economies account for about 40 percent of the world’s GDP.’’
The proposal was made by private-sector members of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, including Takatoshi Ito, a professor of economics at Tokyo University. Signing trade agreements is critical'' for Japan to respond to globalization, Ito said on May 8. Another panel member, Waseda University Professor Shujiro Urata, said Japan may be lagging behind countries pushing for agreements to expand exports and imports.Our basic stance is that we need to think about various possibilities as the proposal has just been made.’’ Shiozaki said. We are not yet at a stage where we can comment on the schedule.''
A free trade agreement with the U.S. would beextremely important’’ for Japan, said Masamitsu Sakurai, president of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives. Areas in which Japan is uncompetitive, including agriculture, may be an impediment, he told reporters in Tokyo on May 8.
Signing Agreements
South Korea and the U.S. formed a deal on April 2 to eliminate duties on products such as autos and clothing and lowers investment barriers for insurers and banks in both countries.
The accord with the U.S., South Korea’s third-largest trading partner, is expected to boost manufacturing exports by about $1.3 billion a year in 10 years, South Korean Finance Minister Kwon Okyu said on April 13, citing a recent study by a government think tank.
``It’s not as simple as that because South Korea has done it, Japan should follow the same path,’’ Shiozaki said, when asked about that agreement.
Japan also needs to overhaul its agricultural industry, which may be affected by opening markets and increasing imports, the panel members said. The government should consider ways to make it easier for more people to join the industry, according to the proposal.
