The Asian country of Japan has proposed tariff cuts for products which are made from materials which are produced in countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade talks. The recent proposal was made during the ongoing round of TPP talks in Brunei, which means that lower or no tariffs will be levied on the products of Japanese firms.
This will subsequently boost their competitiveness against other countries which are not included in the TPP. The rules have been negotiated for setting the scope of tariff reductions and eliminations in the working group for rules of origin in the TPP negotiations. Twelve members of the TPP talks also include the United States.
The 19th round of talks is underway, from August 22, 2013 to August 30, 2013. The participating countries have an aim to conclude the deal by the end of 2013. Meanwhile, Japan is looking to have a common rule for the TPP countries, instead of having variations depending on each country.
In order to facilitate the talks, the TPP countries have separated the negotiations on textiles from those on rules of origin. The nine other countries which are involved in the TPP talks include Brunei, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Canada, Malaysia, Peru and Singapore.
Photo Credits: QDND
