Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-05-09-Speech-1-165-000"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2011-05-09"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:EU-Japan trade relations (debate)2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20110509.21.1-165-000"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2011-05-09-Speech-1-166-0002
lpv:speaker	lp:Syed Kamall2
lpv:spoken text	"Madam President, I think – I hope – that most of us in this House would agree that our preference is for multilateral negotiations and a successful outcome for the Doha Development Round at the WTO. But, given the difficulties that we all know have been encountered there, I think the Commission deserves support in negotiating some of these bilateral agreements. For this reason, I think we should actually be pressing ahead with an EU-Japan free trade agreement. I recognise that there are concerns over the natural disasters that have befallen Japan, but I have spoken to many Japanese colleagues, friends and others who believe that, if we tread sensitively, an EU-Japan agreement would send a signal that Japan is back on its way and is on the road to recovery. If you look at the figures, in 2009, Japan and the EU together represented more than a quarter of global GDP and more than 20% of world trade, and had a combined volume of foreign direct investment of about EUR 200 billion. Given that the EU countries and Japan face common challenges, I think it is important that we look at some of these issues and address them through trade agreements. Despite low tariffs, I think it is quite clear that bilateral trade volumes between the EU and Japan lag behind the bulk of the EU’s trade partnerships with its other main trading partners. I think this is mostly due to the non-tariff barriers. It has been estimated that the cost of some of these barriers is actually higher than the existing tariff levels, and that most of the gains will come from removing these barriers. For companies within EU countries, there would be gains if we could tackle barriers to public procurement, to the medical devices market – where there is insufficient recognition of international standards, to services – including financial services and postal services, and access for SMEs. For the Japanese, there would be gains in the automotive and ICT sectors. But let us not forget that removing or reducing barriers to ICT products from Japan would be of benefit to the EU as well. I think that, overall, there is a feeling on both sides that an EU-Japan FTA has the potential to become a true win-win for both sides."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	member; JURI (2011-02-02--2011-06-07)3 substitute; INTA (2009-07-21--2012-01-18)3 substitute; Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis (2009-10-08--2011-07-31)3 member; PECH (2009-07-14--2013-11-18)3 substitute; ECON (2009-07-21--2011-06-07)3 substitute; Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union (2009-09-16--2014-06-30)3 member; Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee (2009-09-16--2012-02-01)3 unknown; Conservative Party (2009-07-14--2014-06-30)3 substitute; Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (2009-09-16--2014-06-30)3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Syed Kamall,"1 "author."1
lpv:videoURI	<go to Events_and_structure europarl>2

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