On Tuesday 20 December, the day after a two-week round of technical level talks that essentially enabled progress without ironing out the differences on market access, the European Commission and Japanese government took note at political level of the postponement until 2017 of the conclusion of the EU-Japan free trade agreement.
European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed during a telephone call, their common resolve to resume the talks from January 2017 in order to progress as quickly as possible on this file.
According to reports from the Japanese foreign ministry, Malmstrom said it was important to conclude the outlines of the negotations before the elections in Europe, and she said she would like the talks to be resumed as quickly as possible next month in order to reach an agreement in principle. Kishida, for his part, said that they had to make mutual efforts by focusing the discussions on the outstanding problems and by taking account of the sensitive issues on each side in order to be able to conclude swiftly.
The European and Japanese negotiators still need to come to an understanding on the market access pillar by seeking the right balance between the EU's offensive interests and Japan's sensitivities in the industrial area, particularly in the automobile sector.
As regards agriculture, the EU wants to obtain increased access to the Japanese market for its export of dairy products, beef, pork and wine.
With regard to the automobile sectors, the EU is ready to open up its market "fully" but as part of an agreement providing for adequate solutions for non-tariff measures, the chief European negotiator, Mauro Petriccione, stated after the latest round of talks (see EUROPE 11692).
The EU also wants to find adequate solutions to issues such as the opening up of public procurement or the protection of geographical indications, where it has offensive interests. In addition, it wants the inclusion of an ambitious chapter on fostering sustainable development. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)