Trade Policy Committee welcomes guest from the Mission of Japan to the EU
On 27 May the JBCE Trade Policy Committee welcomed guests Tsutomu Koizumi, Minister, Economic Department, Mission of Japan to the European Union and Kenji Mikami, Japan Machinery Center (JMC) / Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industry Association (JEITA) Brussels office.
Mr. Koizumi shared his view on the current status of EU-Japan FTA/EPA negotiations, highlighting progress made at the 10th round in April and remaining issues to be tackled by both sides, and his expectations regarding the EU-Japan Summit held 29 May. JBCE members discussed with Mr. Koizumi how JBCE can contribute to the process, for example by organizing an event with negotiators and European stakeholders, similar to the 2013 and 2014 events. Mr. Koizumi was pleased to continue the communication with JBCE to work together towards the early conclusion in principle within 2015.
After the Minister’s remarks, Mr. Mikami took floor to update the status of the ITA Expansion and the EGA (Environmental Goods Agreement), which have been closely focused by JEITA and JMC, respectively. The ITA Expansion negotiation has been suspended since last December. Higher level talks in upcoming OECD or APEC dialogues are expected to stimulate the resumption of negotiations. The EGA has already held 6 rounds of talk so far and another 5 are scheduled through the end of this year. JBCE will continue communication with JMC/JEITA to give necessary inputs for the success of the two important negotiations.