A landmark trilateral trade agreement between Japan, China and South Korea is no closer to being signed after the latest round of negotiations in Beijing.
According to a report by the Japan Times, the three countries continue to be divided on a number of key issues, including agreeing on a statistic for indicating progress on efforts to eliminate tariffs.
The report added that some observers believe South Korea could be stalling the progress of the deal, as it angles for an edge over Japan in the Chinese market. South Korea currently has a bilateral free trade agreement in place with the People’s Republic.
Tatsuo Sato, deputy director-general of the Japan’s Foreign Ministry’s Economic Affairs Bureau, told reporters late last week that the country’s respective governments were working towards the deal “inch by inch.”
Eight rounds of negotiations have now been completed since talks commenced two and a half years ago. Negotiations are expected to resume in Soul later this month.
