Talks underway for FTA among Korea, China, Japan

Korea, China and Japan will hold a new round of talks on a three-way free trade agreement in Tokyo next week, Korea’s trade ministry said Sunday.

Korea’s top negotiator, Lee Sang-jin, is set to meet with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts from Monday to Thursday, according to the ministry.

The 12th round of talks come amid growing U.S. protectionism and Chinese economic retaliations against Korea over the ongoing deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in Korea.

During the talks, the three negotiators are expected to discuss ways to make progress on key issues of goods, service and investment. They are also scheduled to discuss e-commerce, intellectual property rights and other issues, according to the ministry.

In 2015, leaders of the three countries agreed to step up efforts to conclude a comprehensive, high-level and mutually beneficial three-way free trade deal. Negotiations began in 2013 but failed to yield any substantial progress.

YONHAP