Brussels, 18/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 18 September, the European Commission remained laconic on the results of the 12th session of talks for an EU-Japan free trade agreement which were held in Tokyo on 14-18 September. However, a new session of talks has been scheduled in Brussels for the end of October, and the chapter on investment, which was not discussed this week, will be the subject of a separate working session at the end of September.
“In the negotiations, the EU aims at going beyond trade in goods, even though market access, in particular for cars and agricultural goods, remains of key importance respectively for Japan and for the EU. For Europe, it is important for the success of the overall negotiations that Japan addresses issues of concerns, such as non-tariff measures that impede bilateral trade, public procurement constraints, including in the field of railways and public transport, and other issues, such as services, investment, intellectual property and geographical indications”, the Commission states in a press release.
During the last bilateral summit, in Tokyo on 29 May, the two sides agreed to step up the negotiations with a view to concluding an agreement by the end of 2015 or the start of 2016 (see EUROPE 11324). (Emmanuel Hagry)