Wij willen dat zowel Europese als Japanse bedrijven geld verdienen (en) - Hoofdinhoud
Hans van Baalen tells Rajnish Singh about the political challenges that still lie ahead in the EU’s trade negotiations with Japan.
With the recent start of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and Japan, most politicians from both camps agree that a deal should be reached “as soon as possible”. That was the message from the head of the European parliament’s delegation to Japan Johannes Cornelis van Baalen.
The Dutch MEP told this magazine that “at a strategic level there is not a problem at all”. He wanted to see an agreement reached within one or two years at the latest, but warned that the Japanese government is not “monolithic”, as various government ministries have taken different positions on the FTA. He highlighted how the Japanese agriculture ministry differed with their counterparts in the international trade department, as “they have a problem with the free movement of agricultural goods”.
Despite the different attitudes to an FTA among Japanese government departments, the Dutch MEP felt that representatives in both houses of the Japanese parliament - the Diet - fully supported the government in aiming for an agreement. For van Baalen the prime minister Shinzo Abe was in a powerful political position to push for the FTA, saying, “He is a strong prime minister and not a weak one, who could use the political support from MPs in the Diet to bring the different ministries and agencies together.”
Politically in Japan, “the timing is quite right”, he added. Van Baalen also highlighted the strong backing from Japanese companies, which “are also putting pressure on the various departments, such as the ministry of agriculture”. However, he stressed that the key person was Abe, if he doesn’t push for an FTA, the ruling coalition in the parliament will follow the prime minister and also withdraw support for an agreement.
MEPs in the Japanese delegation have also put pressure on their counterparts in the Diet to support the FTA. “We are talking with our colleagues in the Diet, not only on the phone but also in bilateral meetings, push, push, push that is what we can do,” said van Baalen. In meetings he has had with Japanese ministers, he also took a strong line for an FTA that included free trade in agricultural products. In addition, the delegation has held meetings with Japanese businesses in Brussels and Tokyo. “We see ourselves as lobbying for a swift agreement...we have also put pressure on our colleagues on the international trade committee,” to support the FTA and not to delay the process, he said.
The ALDE member was adamant that there should be total transparency concerning the outcomes of the negotiations and their impact on businesses. “We want companies both in Japan and Europe to make money,” he said, also pointing out that the legislative process in the parliament was “100 per cent open.”
With the recent excitement surrounding the start of possible EU-US trade negotiations van Baalen was not too worried they would politically overshadow the current EU-Japan trade talks. For him it was a question of capacity within the European commission to have specialists to carry out the various trade negotiations. The issue of free trade in agricultural products, he pointed out, was also going to be problematic in any future EU-US trade negotiations. “Everything in life is complicated, the devil is in the details, and these details can cost jobs or produce jobs.”
Though he welcomed Japan agreeing to sign an economic and political framework agreement, for him the main priority was a FTA, “a framework agreement is the cherry on the cake”.
Rajnish Singh is a journalist for The Parliament Magazine