Japan looks to limit FTA proposal
ABC, Australia
Japan looks to limit FTA proposal
22 September 2006
A proposed free-trade deal between Australia and Japan is looking shaky, with agriculture again the most contentious issue.
Japanese Counsel-General Tsukasa Kawada has addressed a conference at Orange, in New South Wales, and made it clear attempts to remove trade protection for his country’s agricultural sector will be a stumbling block.
"Japanese agriculture is quite sensitive," he said.
"The Australian side hopes that we start negotiations on every agricultural product.
"But from our side, since the agricultural sector is so sensitive, we’d like to actually limit the scope of the negotiations to some extent."
