Japan, Peru to enter FTA talks: negotiation sources

TOKYO, Feb. 3 Kyodo -
Japan and Peru are set to agree later this month to launch preliminary talks on
a bilateral free trade agreement, negotiation sources said Tuesday.
The agreement is scheduled to be reached when Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose
Antonio Garcia Belaunde and Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Mercedes Araoz
visit Japan in the final week of February, the sources said.
Japan is hoping Peru will scrap or sharply reduce its duties on automobiles,
while Peru wants to expand its access to Japan's farm and fishery markets, the
sources said.
As farm and fishery imports are sensitive for some political and business
circles in Japan, the two countries' talks are expected to start at a
''preliminary'' level, one of the sources said.
But given that the trade volume of agricultural products from Peru to Japan is
relatively small, it is almost certain that the talks will develop into ''real
negotiations'' in the not-too-distant future, the source said.
Nearly 90 percent of Japan's imports from Peru, mostly natural resources, are
already duty-free. In 2007, Japan's imports from the Andean country amounted to
26.24 billion yen, according to Japanese government figures.
In the same year, Peru's imports from Japan stood at 9.28 billion yen, of which
44 percent were taxable goods, including automobiles and rubber products,
according to data from the World Trade Organization.
Early next week in Peru, senior officials of the two counties will make final
arrangements for the upcoming bilateral talks between the two ministers and
their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and Economy,
Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai, according to the sources.
Peruvian President Alan Garcia asked Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso to launch
FTA negotiations when they met in November on the sidelines of a meeting of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima.
Aso said at the time that he would give positive consideration to the request
but did not specify when Japan and Peru should enter talks on a so-called
economic partnership agreement, which would also facilitate investment and
trade in services, in addition to trade in goods.
Japan and Peru already have an investment treaty.
Japan has so far signed free trade agreements with about 10 economies,
including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
If realized, the pact with Peru would be Japan's third with a Latin American
economy.
With no major breakthrough in the WTO's long-running Doha Round of trade
liberalization talks, an increasing number of countries, both developed and
developing, have been intensifying efforts to forge bilateral or regional free
trade accords in recent years.
Peru is no exception and its free trade agreement with the United States took
effect Sunday.
Viewing Asia as a market with enormous potential, Peru has also been trying
hard to deepen economic ties with China and South Korea.
The Japanese government's decision to enter FTA talks with Peru has apparently
been influenced by recent moves by its two Asian economic rivals.
Peru and South Korea, which also exports a large volume of cars overseas, have
agreed to hold the first round of FTA negotiations in March.
Peru and China are finalizing conditions for their FTA after concluding talks
in November.
==Kyodo
2009-02-03 22:28:53