Noda, Monti agree to aim for early launch of Japan-EU FTA talks
Mainichi Japan | March 29, 2012
Noda, Monti agree to aim for early launch of Japan-EU FTA talks
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Italian counterpart Mario Monti on Wednesday agreed to aim for the early launch of negotiations on a free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union.
Noda and Monti told reporters after their meeting in Tokyo that the two countries face very similar economic challenges and that carrying out fiscal reconstruction and generating growth are both vital.
As part of efforts to boost growth, Noda and Monti said it is important to further relax a web of regulations.
’’I’d like to stress that removing nontariff barriers will be a prerequisite for the launch of talks on an EU-Japan economic partnership agreement,’’ Monti said.
Japan and the European Union agreed to begin preliminary talks on a free trade agreement last May.
Japan is hoping to agree with the European Union on the launch of official FTA talks when the two sides hold an annual summit in Tokyo possibly this summer.
But, even if agreeing on the launch, many difficulties are expected to lie ahead as Japanese farmers have traditionally been resistant to opening up markets and the European automobile industry is worried about Japanese competition.
European countries are also concerned about nontariff barriers in areas like public sector procurement and medical equipment.
In addition to economic issues, Noda said he discussed North Korea and Iran with Monti and agreed that the two countries will work closely in dealing with their nuclear ambitions.
Monti, who took office in November to manage structural reforms in Italy with his technocratic government, is the first Italian prime minister in five years to visit Japan for a bilateral summit.
After a four-day visit to Japan through Friday, Monti, who is also finance minister, is scheduled to visit China.
Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Jun Azumi discussed with Monti the possibility of increasing resources at the International Monetary Fund to prevent the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone’s periphery spreading to bigger economies.
’’We exchanged views to some extent,’’ Azumi told reporters after meeting with Monti at a Tokyo hotel, though declining to elaborate. He also said they discussed fiscal problems in Europe, as well as economic relations between Japan and Italy.
Japan is one of the key IMF members believed to be considering helping to raise funds at the Washington-based international lender as part of efforts to prevent the debt problems in Greece, Ireland and Portugal from spreading to bigger economies in the euro area, such as Italy and Spain, and dragging down global economic growth.
Joining a seminar, Monti said the Greek crisis is ’’almost over,’’ welcoming Athens’ pledge to implement austerity measures in exchange for a second bailout package, as well as the wider efforts by the European Union to introduce tighter fiscal discipline rules and strengthen the eurozone’s so-called ’’firewalls’’ bailout system to prevent contagion from the crisis.
As for Italy, Monti said, ’’It is my firm commitment that Italy should not be one of the sources of such a flame, and I’m interested, like others, in the firewalls because I don’t want...Italy to be burnt by flames.’’
Japan, the second-biggest stakeholder in the IMF after the United States, has said it will not advocate increasing IMF resources unless European leaders first act convincingly by boosting the eurozone bailout system — an issue to be discussed later this week by finance ministers of the currency bloc.
The IMF funding issue will also be high on the agenda when finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 advanced and major developing economies meet on the sidelines of biannual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank next month in Washington.
The IMF said in January that $1 trillion in funding would be needed for fiscal emergencies over the coming years, while senior Japanese Finance Ministry officials have indicated that Tokyo is studying the option of lending $50 billion to the IMF’s general account.
