3 nations able to build 'trust' in 1st round of talks on fledging FTA
Source: AFP |
March 29, 2013, Friday
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CHINA, Japan and South Korea concluded a first round of talks yesterday on securing a free trade pact to bind the three economies that account for 20 percent of global gross domestic product.
The three days of talks in Seoul that began on Tuesday were largely procedural, setting the agenda and scope of future talks when substantive trade issues will be discussed.
South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Choi Kyong-Lim said the first round had laid a crucial foundation.
"I believe we were successful in establishing trust between negotiators from the three countries, which may play the most important role as negotiations move forward," Choi said.
The second round of the trilateral FTA talks will be held in China in June or July, followed by a third round in Japan later in the year.
"Usually, it takes around one to three years at the least to conclude FTA talks with a large trading partner," Choi said.
"But I think the ongoing talks may take some more time, considering the importance and size of the involved countries and the fact that they are three-way negotiations," he added.
China, Japan and South Korea are now Asia's largest, second-largest and fourth-largest economies, while trade volume between them totaled US$690 billion in 2011.
Among other issues, the discussions are expected to hit opposition from Japanese and South Korean farmers worried about an inflow of cheaper agricultural products such as Chinese rice.
But the main hurdle lies in the form of bitter, long-standing territorial disputes that have raised diplomatic and military tensions and hampered economic cooperation.
Meanwhile, the US is leading negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact that some see as part of the so-called US "pivot" - aimed at reaffirming the US role in Asia in the face of China's economic rise.
The TPP talks now involve Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.
While China is absent, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said earlier this month Japan would participate in the TPP talks.
The three days of talks in Seoul that began on Tuesday were largely procedural, setting the agenda and scope of future talks when substantive trade issues will be discussed.
South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Choi Kyong-Lim said the first round had laid a crucial foundation.
"I believe we were successful in establishing trust between negotiators from the three countries, which may play the most important role as negotiations move forward," Choi said.
The second round of the trilateral FTA talks will be held in China in June or July, followed by a third round in Japan later in the year.
"Usually, it takes around one to three years at the least to conclude FTA talks with a large trading partner," Choi said.
"But I think the ongoing talks may take some more time, considering the importance and size of the involved countries and the fact that they are three-way negotiations," he added.
China, Japan and South Korea are now Asia's largest, second-largest and fourth-largest economies, while trade volume between them totaled US$690 billion in 2011.
Among other issues, the discussions are expected to hit opposition from Japanese and South Korean farmers worried about an inflow of cheaper agricultural products such as Chinese rice.
But the main hurdle lies in the form of bitter, long-standing territorial disputes that have raised diplomatic and military tensions and hampered economic cooperation.
Meanwhile, the US is leading negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact that some see as part of the so-called US "pivot" - aimed at reaffirming the US role in Asia in the face of China's economic rise.
The TPP talks now involve Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.
While China is absent, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said earlier this month Japan would participate in the TPP talks.
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