METI precedence on WTO incompatible Foreign Trade Policies
03 Jun '06
3 min read
European Union
EU rules introduced as means to protect the environment, health, safety, etc, have the potential to seriously restrict trade and are causing serious concern among Japanese industries.
Japanese industries particularly express grave worries about the contents of the following rules, and METI will continue to request that these rules reflect the concerns of Japan.
• Draft Regulations of Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH)
• Directives on Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
• Directives on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS)
ASEAN
High tariffs on certain products, as well as trade restrictions affecting foreign investment in ASEAN countries, are the most serious concerns for Japanese industry.
Though many of the problems are not necessarily WTO-inconsistent, they should be liberalized to promote free trade.
METI will do its utmost to tackle these problems, fully utilizing the Doha Round of WTO negotiations and EPA negotiations.
Japan will try to solve the issues of tariffs on digital cameras imposed by Indonesia. It will request exemption from the tariffs based on Indonesia's WTO obligations, and will consider the possibility of utilizing the WTO dispute settlement procedures.
East Asian countries and territories (China, ASEAN, Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and India)
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