Japan and Turkey ended the first round of the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) in Tokyo on Tuesday, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
At the two-day meeting, both sides exchanged their views on the method of negotiations and a broad range of negotiating areas such as trade in goods and services, the ministry said. The two countries also decided to work on scheduling the dates of the second round of negotiations to be held in Ankara through diplomatic channels, it said.
Kyodo News Agency said the focus of the upcoming FTA negotiations will likely be the abolition of Turkish tariffs on Japanese automobiles and improving market access for Turkish agricultural products. Duties on agricultural products are also expected to be lifted, with some exceptions, within 10 years, according to the Turkish Ministry of Economy.
Turkey imposes 10 percent tariffs on Japanese automobiles, one of Japan's main export items. Japan also exports other industrial products such as vessels and construction machinery to Turkey.
Turkey mainly exports agricultural and textile products to Japan such as clothing and carpets. In 2012, Japan's imports from Turkey totaled around USD 575 million while Turkey's imports from Japan stood at USD 3.6 billion, Kyodo said, citing a report of the joint study group on the bilateral FTA.