madam president it is quite desirable to review the trading arrangements that we have with other countries and it is quite understandable that japan sees the fta as particularly attractive in relation to the recent korea fta
there is a lot that we can support in the epp-alde-ecr resolution but i think that they are making a mistake to strongly support an fta
that is a direct quote from paragraph two
i think that is premature support when we do not have impact assessments on the environmental and social effects of an fta
they are predicting the answer before identifying the effects of implementing the solution
many people have commented about the non-tariff barriers and the work that has yet to be done by the high-level group
i think that needs a positive step forward
when we bear in mind the importance of japan as a trading partner with bilateral trade with the eu standing at eur one hundred and twenty billion a year and with the eu being the number three trading partner for japan and the number two investor in japan i think we recognise that any bilateral agreement runs the risk of undermining multilateral agreements with the rest of the world and in particular with the developing countries
so i think that strong unconditional support for an fta needs to be revised
finally i would like to say that whilst we have every sympathy with japan future trade policies simply cannot be based on who has had the most recent natural disaster
