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Report
No.240404 |
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- International - |
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Agriculture Minister Has Say on Starting FTA Talks with Australia The government, on November 2, held a meeting of ministers concerned with promotion of comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) and confirmed to make all-out effort on bilateral negotiations with India and Vietnam etc., while pushing ahead for reaching an agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the top most priority task. The EPA related cabinet meeting was last held in March this year, and this is the first one convened under Abe cabinet. The meeting also confirmed as the pre-requisite for going into EPA negotiations with Australia that a certain degree of consideration is given to agricultural products in connection with tariff elimination. Decision as to whether or not to start negotiation will only be made after studying a report of the joint governmental study group on possible impact of having an EPA, which may be put together soonest by the end of the year. The EPA related cabinet meeting was attended by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso, Minister of Finance Koji Omi, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Hakuo Yanagisawa, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akira Amari. On the subject of EPA negotiations with Australia, fear of damaging impact on Japanese agriculture is so great and agriculture minister Matsuoka had the following to say from the viewpoint of keeping Japanese agriculture from unfavorable treatment: "I would like to have a good look into what merit (of expanded export etc.) it could have for agricultural products and agriculture of Japan." "Our government should enter the negotiations only after the joint governmental study resolved the issue of how to deal with sensitive products (exempting from tariff elimination)." Foreign minister Aso expressed a stance to promote the EPA negotiation with Australia as something "the government should engage in earnest," but "made mention of a need to give consideration to agricultural products" as a precondition to it, according to a government source. The meeting also confirmed not to waste time in compiling a report of the joint governmental study, which should serve as a basis of making decision if to start the negotiations. In the meantime, the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe chairs met on the same day and agreed to update the EPA roadmap drafted in May, 2005 as well as to have expert committees discuss future EPAs and agriculture reform to produce an interim report by next spring. |
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