Japan signed a bilateral free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations April 14. The ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is expected to go into effect later this year. Observers state that the FTA, Japan’s first with a trading bloc, is part of the country’s effort to catch up with China and South Korea in negotiating regional agreements. According to press reports, Japan will repeal tariffs on 93 percent of its imports from ASEAN within 10 years while six of the 10 ASEAN members - Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore - will eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of their imports from Japan within the same period. Tariff elimination will be more gradual for the smaller ASEAN members, Cambodia, Burma, Laos and Vietnam. The FTA covers goods, services and investment relations between the countries.
World Trade/Interactive
