TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) – The European Union’s chief negotiator Mauro Petriccione met his Japanese counterpart Yoichi Suzuki for talks in Tokyo on Tuesday (June 27), as the two economies seek to forge a free-trade agreement.
On Monday (June 26), EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom said the regional bloc was is in a “very intense phase” in its negotiations with Japan and could sign a provisional deal as early as next week.
Petriccione has been in Tokyo for the past two weeks seeking to conclude talks.
A trade accord with the world’s third-largest economy would be the EU’s biggest trade scalp to date.
The EU has forecast trade between the two could increase by a third, boosting the EU economy by 0.8 percent and Japan’s by 0.3 percent over the long term.
Signing an EPA with the EU, which comprises roughly 10 percent of Japan’s total foreign trade, is among the key goals of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” stimulus programs and growth strategy.
The two sides have been negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) since 2013 to promote trade and investment by eliminating tariffs and improving investment rules.
The deal has taken on greater importance since United States President Donald Trump took the US out of the multi-member Trans-Pacific Partnership pact.
