Japan and the European Union will not be signing a mutual recognition pact designed to boost cross-border trade at today's bilateral summit, European Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy said Tuesday.
Despite a year of progress following a temporary setback in bilateral negotiations last year, more time will be needed to iron out differences among EU members before the trade pact can be inked.
"We're not yet at the initialing or signing stage," Lamy told a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, "but we have made a lot of progress. And it's now more a question of consulting our various constituencies."
The mutual recognition pact was sought to add luster to a joint statement on the renewed Japan-EU relationship to be addressed by their leaders at today's bilateral summit in Tokyo.
Lamy said the Group of Eight economic powerhouses must follow up on a recent statement by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, which called for an early launch of a new round of trade liberalization negotiations under the World Trade Organization when they meet in Okinawa for the summit meeting later this week.
"OECD made the statement calling for a new round with some sort of sense of urgency. The G8 should do the same," Lamy said.
While pledging to work as hard as possible to make the launch happen by yearend, Lamy said time was running out.
"Waiting is no solution. I'm convinced that it's going to be more difficult next year, whichever result the American (presidential) election will have," Lamy said, adding that other upcoming elections, such as the one for the House of Representatives, have more importance for trade issues. "We should do it as soon as possible this year."