Japanese and European Union business leaders agreed at a meeting here Friday to draw up a recommendation to both governments in which they will call for a multilateral trade system to be reinforced, a Japanese business source said Friday.
The business leaders will finalize the recommendation by May and submit it before an annual summit between Japan and the EU expected to take place in May or July, the source said.
The leaders attending the one-day meeting intend to send a strong message to support a new round of global trade talks under the World Trade Organization, he said.
The WTO member states will soon address a set agenda for the round, trying to reach an agreement by July on outlining it and to begin the new trade liberalization talks at the next ministerial meeting of the WTO, scheduled to take place in Qatar in November.
"Japan and the EU share their positions in a lot of issues involving the new round," the source said, adding that business circles intend to back up the cooperative stances of their respective governments.
The multilateral global trade system could be seriously damaged if the Qatar meeting fails to launch a new round.
The business leaders also agreed to enhance activities on electronic commerce, seeking the formulation of common positions between the two sides on the issue, the source said.
The meeting was a preparatory session for the next EU-Japan Business Dialogue Roundtable, which will be held in Brussels on May 1-2. The round-table was set up to discuss and exchange experiences to foster better understanding between the two sides and to enhance business cooperation projects.
Friday's meeting was jointly chaired by Tadahiro Sekimoto, adviser and former chairman of NEC Corp., and Etienne Davignon, chairman of Societe Generale de Belgique.