On Wednesday 28 September, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström welcomed the determination displayed by the new Japanese minister for the economy and trade, Hiroshige Seko, to speed up negotiations for an EU-Japan free trade agreement.
Malmström congratulated Hiroshige Seko on his appointment and stated: "You are right that we need to accelerate our negotiations on the EU-Japan free trade agreement (FTA) as Prime Minister Abe and President Juncker agreed at the ASEM summit on 16 July 2016. We all have to do our utmost to find a breakthrough so that we can conclude an agreement as soon as possible, if possible by the end of this year".
She highlighted the fact that "an ambitious EU-Japan free trade agreement would certainly open new business opportunities to both EU and to Japanese companies and would contribute to economic growth and to employment both in the EU and in Japan".
These negotiations were launched in March 2013 but have been stalled since spring 2015. Following two rounds of negotiations in Brussels in March and in Tokyo in April, which failed to make any breakthrough, European and Japanese negotiators met in Brussels again this week (26-30 September).
During a visit to Tokyo on 20 September, Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen appealed for more "political resolve" to tackle the "sectoral interests that are not always arbitrated in the best way possible". He referred to non-tariff barriers, agricultural products and geographical indications, services and public procurement as key questions that needed to be settled. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)