Japan, Colombia kick off 3rd round of FTA talks
Kyodo News International | October 28, 2013
Japan, Colombia kick off 3rd round of FTA talks
Japan and Colombia kicked off their third round of free trade negotiations Monday in Tokyo, which will cover tariff reduction, rules of origin and public procurement.
At the outset of the five-day meeting through Friday, Jun Yokota, Japan’s ambassador in charge of economic diplomacy, said Tokyo hopes to "continue negotiations to reach a high-level comprehensive accord" with Bogota.
Japan’s exports to Colombia are mainly industrial goods such as automobiles and steel products, while Japan-bound Colombian exports are mainly agricultural items including coffee and flower.
Tokyo aims to eliminate 35 percent tariffs Bogota levies on Japanese automobile imports, Japanese officials said.
The two countries agreed to launch FTA talks in September 2012 and held their first round of negotiations in Tokyo last December and the second session in Colombia’s Cali in May.
