Japan, EU kick off fifth round of FTA talks

Japan and the European Union (EU) on Monday kicked off their fifth round of free trade agreement ( FTA) talks, with a focus on tariff elimination on EU wine and Japan's auto, according to local media. The session was called a "critical" one as EU will decide on whether to continue negotiations with Japan based on how much progress has been made, Japan's Kyodo News said. The 28-nation bloc will conduct a review on whether Japan has made progress in eliminating trade barriers in April, one year after the launch of bilateral free trade talks. "I'd like to renew our resolve to advance our negotiations with good cooperation," Japanese deputy Foreign Minister Yasumasa Nagamine was quoted by Kyodo as saying. EU Chief Negotiator Mauro Petriccione hoped that the two sides could consolidate many of the ideas that have been discussed during the past sessions of negotiations, according to the report. The five-day talks could be the last session of negotiations before the EU's review process.