ISDS Case Map
Japan
The governments of Japan and Indonesia are mulling a new economic agreement, which would see the latter offering Japanese firms incentives to invest here.
A report on the status of FTA fever in 12 Asian countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Free trade agreements are flying around East Asia these days, with even India, from South Asia, getting a piece of the action.
Mazda Motor Corp. has set up a new unit in Mexico to start selling vehicles there, taking advantage of the scheduled implementation of a free trade agreement between Japan and Mexico next year.
The Japanese government has urged Thailand to lift tariffs on car imports as part of its efforts to conclude a free trade agreement. At the same time, Japanese automakers, whose affiliated firms take up most of the Thai auto market, are cautious about the FTA because it could cause fierce competition between the same Japanese car models.
If proof were needed that an Asian free-trade "arms race" has begun in earnest, then the 10th ASEAN summit in Vientiane on November 29th-30th provided it in abundance. The highlight of the summit was the signing of an FTA between China and ASEAN, but equally striking was the number of other trade pacts that were, variously, agreed, worked on or proposed during the meeting in the Lao capital.
Japan and the Philippines on Monday clinched a broad free trade agreement (FTA) that would include letting a trickle of nurses into Japan to help cope with a shortage.
Japan is proving a tough negotiator for countries with their hopes pinned on FTAs.
Japan and the Philippines reached a basic agreement for a bilateral free-trade agreement after striking a deal on the stickiest issue -- steel tariffs.
Japan and Chile are expected to set up a joint study board aimed at concluding a free trade agreement.
