Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott remains optimistic he can sign off on a last-minute free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan, according to the Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Abbott held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over the weekend, as part of a week-long delegation to northern Asia, which will also include stops in South Korea and China. An announcement on the outcome of the negotiations is likely to be made today (April 7).
Abbott admitted finalising the terms of the FTA had been “difficult,” with agricultural exports - more pointedly the tariff on Australian beef - believed to be a major sticking point.
However, Abbott said Japan remained an important market to Australia, with an FTA important step in further developing trade relationships.
“Under the free trade agreement, about which we are optimistic, we are hopeful not just of getting more Australian produce sold in Japan, more Japanese products sold in Australia, but we want to have more investment, more two-way investment and more opportunities for Australian companies to flourish here in Japan,” Abbott told a press conference in Tokyo. “We are hopeful but not certain about the FTA.”
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