アジアＦＴＡ ＴＰＰと両輪で交渉力発揮を

The Yomiuri Shimbun May 12, 2013
Japan should use TPP, RCEP talks to improve its global trade position
アジアＦＴＡ　ＴＰＰと両輪で交渉力発揮を（5月11日付・読売社説）

In addition to the ongoing U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, negotiations for the formation of a huge new free trade framework in Asia have also got moving.
　米国主導の環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）交渉に続き、アジアで別の巨大な自由貿易圏作りが動き出した。

To pursue national interests, Japan must bolster a strategy to promote the two sets of negotiations simultaneously.
　日本は国益を追求するため、二つの交渉を同時に推進する戦略を強化すべきである。

The first meeting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), consisting of 16 countries, began Thursday in Brunei. The 16 members are Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, plus the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
　日中韓と、東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）、豪州、ニュージーランド、インドの１６か国による包括的経済連携（ＲＣＥＰ）の初交渉がブルネイで始まった。

The RCEP would be a free trade framework covering almost all of Asia. Its members' gross domestic products total 20 trillion dollars, accounting for 30 percent of the world's total.
　ＲＣＥＰは、アジアのほぼ全域をカバーする自由貿易協定（ＦＴＡ）である。国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）は計２０兆ドルに達し、世界全体の３割を占める経済圏だ。

The 16 nations will hold negotiations on a wide field of issues, including lowering tariffs and reducing investment barriers, as they try to reach agreement by the end of 2015. It is very significant to establish an Asian free trade agreement involving China and India.
　１６か国は、関税引き下げや投資障壁の削減など幅広い分野で交渉し、２０１５年末の妥結を目指している。中国とインドを含めたアジアＦＴＡの意義は大きい。

U.S.-China rivalry

China, which is not taking part in the TPP talks, has a strong sense of crisis over the idea that it will be left out in the cold in forming trade rules in Asia. China's active participation in the RCEP framework indicates its intention to compete with the United States.
　ＴＰＰに不参加の中国は、アジアの貿易ルール作りから取り残されることへの危機感が強い。ＲＣＥＰに積極的に関わり、米国に対抗する狙いがうかがえる。

Compared with the TPP, which will call for abolishing tariffs in 10 years in principle, the RCEP seeks a milder level of liberalization.
　原則として１０年間で関税を撤廃するＴＰＰに比べ、ＲＣＥＰで求められる自由化の水準は低い。

Nevertheless, once the RCEP framework is formed, it will make it easier for Japan to arrange a supply chain to link production bases in Asia. It will also help expand Japan's exports, thereby giving momentum to the country's growth strategy of tapping into overseas demand.
　とは言え、構想が実現すれば、日本企業がアジアの生産拠点をつなぐサプライチェーン（供給網）を整えやすくなる。輸出拡大にもプラスで、海外需要を取り込む日本の成長戦略に弾みがつく。

On the issue of lowering tariffs, Japan aims to reach an accord next year, one year earlier than scheduled. We hope Japan will exercise leadership to establish a free trade zone that will have a deeper degree of cooperation.
　日本は関税引き下げでは、来年の前倒し合意も目指す構えだ。日本が主導し、より連携を深める自由貿易圏の実現を望みたい。

The RCEP talks are expected to favorably affect the TPP negotiations, which are entering a final stage.
　大詰めを迎えるＴＰＰ交渉に与える好影響も期待される。

The United States and 10 other countries are holding talks with the aim of reaching an agreement before the end of this year. Japan is likely to take its place at the negotiating table around July. Undeniably, Japan as a latecomer is in a disadvantageous position.
　米国など１１か国はＴＰＰの年内合意を目指して交渉中で、日本も７月ごろに交渉のテーブルに着く見通しだ。ただし、遅れて参加する日本の不利は否めない。

Tough negotiations lie ahead for Japan, which wants to have five agricultural products, including rice and wheat, exempted from tariff abolition.
　コメ、麦など農産品５項目を関税撤廃の例外扱いにしたい日本には厳しい交渉が予想される。

Advantages of entry in 2 talks

We want Japan to take advantage of its position as a participant in both the RCEP, from which the United States is absent, and the TPP, from which China is absent.
　米国が加わらないＲＣＥＰと、中国抜きのＴＰＰに加わる日本の立場を生かしてもらいたい。

It is essential for Japan to promote TPP and RCEP negotiations for its own advantage by winning concession from the United States, which is cautious about Chinese moves, while also calling for China to open its market wider by using the TPP as leverage.
　中国の動きを警戒する米国の譲歩を引き出したり、ＴＰＰをテコに中国の市場開放を求めたりするなど、交渉を日本ペースで進めることが重要である。

Japan must make all-out efforts to have its opinions reflected in the formulation of rules.
　日本の主張を反映させたルール作りに全力を挙げるべきだ。

RCEP and the TPP will serve as the initial framework of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific which Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation members, including Japan, China and the United States, seek to establish.
　ＲＣＥＰとＴＰＰは、日中や米国などアジア太平洋経済協力会議（ＡＰＥＣ）が目指すアジア太平洋自由貿易地域（ＦＴＡＡＰ）の母体になるだろう。

Japan must display its bargaining power in both sets of trade negotiations to open up the vision for a future strategy.
　日本が今、交渉力を発揮することが将来の戦略にもつながる。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 11, 2013)
（2013年5月11日01時20分  読売新聞）