EU, Japan Officials Eyeing "Early Conclusion" of Trade Deal

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said this weekend that they hope their two sides can complete negotiations for a free trade deal in the near term, after previously having attempted to conclude the talks last year. The EU and Japan have been negotiating a free trade agreement since early 2013, having agreed two years earlier to examine whether such an accord would be beneficial. They have also been negotiating a “strategic partnership agreement” during that time. (See Bridges Weekly, 27 March 2013 ) Meeting in the German city of Bonn on 19 February, the two officials reportedly discussed topics such as the relationship between domestic policy changes underway in the Asian economy and the broader trade talks, along with the current geopolitical scene, according to a press release from the Commission. “While it was not possible to conclude by the end of 2016, as we had hoped, tremendous progress has been registered over the last few months,” said the EU trade chief. Malmström also suggested that the unresolved areas that remain “are the most difficult to be solved,” while suggesting that a compromise may not be too far off. Kishida, for his part, reportedly...