Japan, China, South Korea to Continue FTA Talks

Japan, China and South Korea ended here Tuesday talks on a free trade pact without agreeing on eliminating tariffs.

    The two-day session was the 10th round of the trilateral negotiations.Chief  negotiators held the session on the belief that they need to speed up the talks as the global economy is becoming more unstable following Britain's decision to leave the European Union. 

    According to the Japanese delegation, the negotiators agreed to officially begin talks on liberalization in five fields including government procurement, finance and movement of people. But they remain divided over a framework for trade liberalization to serve as the basis for negotiating tariffs.

    Japan and South Korea want a high level of trade liberalization. But China is reluctant to remove tariffs, and puts importance on protecting its domestic industries. The negotiators agreed to hold the next round of talks in China.