Member countries of the?Trans-Pacific Partnership?will allow Japan to join talks on a US-led Asia Pacific free trade agreement. The pact would cover nearly 40 percent of global economic output.?
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (c.) speaks to media after a meeting with cabinet ministers at his official residence in Tokyo, on April 12. Japan and the United States have agreed on a deal to allow Tokyo to join talks on a US-led Asia-Pacific free trade pact that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making a keystone of his strategy to open Japan's economy and spur long-sought growth.
Kyodo/Reuters
EnlargeJapan?won approval from participating countries to join talks on a US-led?Asia Pacific?free trade agreement, central to Prime Minister?Shinzo Abe's plans to open the economy to more competition and revive growth.
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
The formal invitation for Tokyo to join the negotiations was extended at a meeting of members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on Saturday on the sidelines of the?Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation?gathering in?Surabaya,Indonesia, according to a joint statement.
Japan?will join 11 nations already in talks on the TPP: the?United States,?Canada,?Mexico,?Peru,?Chile,?Vietnam,?Malaysia,?Singapore,?Brunei,?Australia?and?New Zealand. Members hope to reach a deal by the end of this year.
With the world's third-largest economy on board, the final TPP pact would cover nearly 40 percent of global economic output and one-third of all world trade.
Abe has prescribed a three-part economic plan of hyper-easy monetary policy, big fiscal spending and steps to spur longer-term growth, including deregulation and government backing to beat deflation and engineer lasting recovery. Joining the TPP talks is seen as the first, key element of that growth strategy.
"Japan's participation in the negotiation will underscore the economic significance of TPP and its promise as a pathway toward a Free Trade Area of the?Asia Pacific," said the joint statement by trade ministers of the TPP member nations.
Japan?hopes to participate in the July round of negotiations, which would require the?White House?to quickly giveCongress?90-day notice of its intention to begin trade talks with Tokyo.
A 17th round of talks is currently scheduled for May in?Peru. The dates and location of the 18th round in July have not yet been announced.
Last week,?Japan?struck a deal with the?United States?to get Washington's support to join the TPP talks.
The TPP talks are officially slated to conclude this year, although many trade experts expect them to stretch into 2014.
Japan?is hoping to protect key agriculture goods such as rice, wheat and dairy products to appease its politically powerful farm lobby.
"Japan?will aim to secure tariffs on agricultural products after entering the TPP talks. The situation is quite tough but we have not given up," a senior government official said.
Kazuhito Yamashita, research director at the?Canon Institute?for Global Studies, said?Japan?should be looking beyond the TPP to boost broader trade ties.
"Japan?can have bargaining power as the nation is the only one involved in trade talks such as the TPP,?Japan-EU,?Japan-China-Korea, and the RCEP," he said.
Talks on a?Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade?block include the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with?Japan,?China,?South Korea,?Australia,?New Zealand?and?India, but not the?United States.
"Japan?is in a very interesting strategic position.?Japan?could become a hub in?South East Asia?and a bridge between the region and the West if the authorities clearly understand this."?
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/NY_rIEbv_jU/Japan-will-join-Asia-Pacific-free-trade-talks
nflx chicago blackhawks giuliana rancic giuliana rancic elie wiesel temptations work hard play hard
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.