Japan, Turkey launch FTA negotiations

Japan and Turkey launched negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) in Tokyo on Monday. At the two-day meeting through Tuesday, both sides are expected to exchange their views on the method of negotiations and a broad range of negotiating areas such as trade in goods and services, the Japanese Foreign Ministry has said earlier.
During their summit talks here in January, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed that the two countries will launch FTA negotiations.
According to public broadcaster NHK, Japanese negotiators will ask their Turkish counterparts to eliminate tariffs on autos and other industrial goods. The Japanese side will also seek them to ease investment regulations and allow more Japanese firms to bid for public works projects in Turkey.
Turkish officials are expected to ask Japan to eliminate tariffs on carpets and other textiles, as well as on tuna and other marine products, the report said. Turkey already has a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea that took effect in May of last year.
Analysts say Japanese negotiators will seek an early conclusion to the EPA talks to prevent Japanese businesses from losing their international competitiveness.