In aesthetic terms, small may be beautiful. But as far as trade deals are concerned, the opposite usually applies.
After nearly six years of hectic negotiations, Japan and the 15-nation European Union have signed a landmark agreement to mutually recognize the results of safety and other tests for some industrial products.
The mutual recognition agreement, or MRA, is the first such trade pact that Japan has concluded. It covers four product categories -- electrical goods, chemical products, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications peripheral devices.