politics

Japan, China, S Korea agree to start free-trade talks

19 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© 2012 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

19 Comments
Login to comment

Of course it's up to China to keep any benefits of the deal from flowing to North Korea. Let's see how it unfolds. For some reason, I'm leery.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ TrevorPeace1 ofcourse China will be main beneficiary..then if they include India, India will get bigger share too !

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Insanity, more jobs to be lost in Japan. All to make the 1 percent richer!

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Thank you for the conversation. As always, it was very interesting. Now, when can China expect the Japanese businesses to surrender their technology, production secrets, and any miscellaneous information. It won't take a decrease in population in a 1000 years to bring about the demise of Japan. Watch these ELECTED officials closely, and re-elect or remove according to their interest in Japan's future.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Something since the NAFTA establishment of 1992, and the birth of the European Union in Mid-November 1993 (Under the Maasthricht treaty)

If approved, it will be named as Northeastern Asia Free Trade Alliance.

But we must keep those North Korean prying eyes away, It may mean unusual firing to cargo ships for no reason.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Fools rush in where angel fears to tread." Although 3-way FTA maybe a belated one, expect this FTA to take longer than 2 years.Come on man.There is still too much historical distrust among the three Asian brothers.First start creating some confidence-building measures among Tokyo,Seoul & Beijing!!! Then take the next step which is to graduaily build the momentum to start having FTA talks."Better Late Than Never".Once 3 way-FTAs are formed and become a reality then we can say 3 neighbours can become true and genuine friends too.

First of all,both China and Japan want to have 3-way FTA talks with Korea,which has just concluded FTAs with the United States and Europe in addition to ASEAN,Chile and some other countries.Korea,once the world's most closed and shut out market for international traders, is now way ahead of both Tokyo and Beijing in terms of having made FTAs with international world.But Koreans are the people who work constantly even without taking breaks will indeed push hard to make sure that Seoul will become a global FTA hub.That means once 3-way FTA is signed in the near future,only then will Korea become the first country in the world to have FTAs with 4 major global economic powers.They are 1.U.S.A. 2.Europe 3.China 4.Japan..

3-way FTA will lower tensions in and around the Korean Peninsula..It could assist in making Korea a more stable place to do free trade business.That FTA will lower inter-Korea tension and it could also mitigate the persistent mutual suspicion between Tokyo and Beijing over their island disputes and if both China & Russia settle their own island disputes with Japan then Korea-Japan island disputes could also resolve the problems.I have a feeling one day that reunified Korea,Japan,China,Russia and even the United States will make a NATO version for North East Asia and the U.S.A. will still retain some 28,500 U.S.Army in Korea and plus another 50,000 U.S.Army in Japan to balance the power of China,former Soviet Union and Japan so that peace and stability can be achieved in East Asia for the good of all Asian people who deserve some recommendations for their hard work and labour which will bring about a new turnaround in Asia-Pacific Century in the new 21 st Century..Keep our fingers crossed and wish 3-way FTAs a very good luck indeed. Peace to all my fellow Asian brothers and sisters and may you suceed eternally in whatever you do and I write this aricle from my beloved home in Seoul,Korea as we live in a truly exciting moment in this wonderful world!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

there should be mutually beneficial synergies to be found between these countries.

and for china, it also represents a vehicle for addressing the pacific rim trade agreement being pushed by the usa, and in which china is not taking part.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

good bye jobs and future success

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Well, this news provides dictionaries with a new example for the term "suicide", definition 2: destruction of one's own interests or prospect, ex: Japan's and South Korea's free trade agreement with China was an economic suicide.

Seriously, China is a currency manipulator, you don't sign free trade with countries like that! And the theory of free trade has been shown time and again to be an horrible idea between a developed country and a developing country, as the lower prices and wages of the developing country, if not balanced by tariffs, result in a displacement of the manufacturing sector. As 75-80% of international trade involves manufactured goods and natural resources, this creates an enormous trade deficit in the developed country, which leads to an impoverishment of its population and the creation of debt bubbles.

Free trade may make some sense between countries with similar standards of living and cost levels, but with such a mismatched pair, it would be completely disastrous.

Free trade is an example of something that works well in theory, but that works horribly once you start considering real-world situations and incorporate details in the analysis.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

What is Noda thinking... Joining TPP and free trade with China, S. Korea results in destruction of Japanese domestic economy and of big business.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

china is japan's biggest trading partner, now, if i'm not mistaken.

so what are you people whining about?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Yeah, good luck with that, 3 of the most protected economies in the world.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Hello lostrune2! You said 3 of the most protected economies in the world.So Korea will no longer levy import tariffs on Big 3 U.S.A. Automakers according to Korea-USA FTA deal which just came into effect March 15th as of this year 2012..But one month after that Koreans still don't buy Detroit-made U.S. autos instead they buy U.S.-made autos with Japanese brands like Honda,Toyota and so on..What's your definition of Korea being the "world's most protected nation" especially when Korea has done away with import tariff barriers on U.S. products like beef and automobiles? I really would like to know what you are trying to say and mean what you tell!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Jung Shim,

OK maybe SK is improving. Good luck to them with the other 2.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Japan should wait. If Japan and the U.S. were to build up the TPP framework, they would be in better position to counter China in terms of scale and other conditions. The U.S. has lacked adequate power to counter China’s singular policies, especially in the areas of intellectual property rights and government procurement. Many corporations are facing problems in stolen intellectual properties have voiced concerns and dissatisfaction about being unable to state their cases strongly because of the pressure that the Chinese government exerts from its advantageous position. Even the U.S. government has been at a loss when it comes to dealing with China. Japan also lacks the wherewithal to counter China, particularly when it comes to product standardization, in the face of the buying power generated by the growth of the huge Chinese market. These benefits of the TPP would be favorable to Japanese manufacturing. Japan needs to make its decision on whether to join from a long-term perspective.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Japan needs to make its decision on whether to join from a long-term perspective.

sfjp330, Japan is in "TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS" (song) position now. We will wait and see.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Thank you for the conversation. As always, it was very interesting. Now, when can China expect the Japanese businesses to surrender their technology, production secrets, and any miscellaneous information. It won't take a decrease in population in a 1000 years to bring about the demise of Japan. Watch these ELECTED officials closely, and re-elect or remove according to their interest in Japan's future.

i estimate it'll take the same amount of time it took the u.s. to surrender theirs to japan.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Seriously, China is a currency manipulator, you don't sign free trade with countries like that!

for another perspective, please read up on this - u.s. currency manipulation: http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/06/news/economy/thebuzz/index.htm

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites