Switzerland, Japan to clinch trade pact next month
Published: January 16, 2009
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BERN, Switzerland: Switzerland and Japan have completed the outline of a free trade agreement and plan to sign the full deal next month.
The Swiss Economics Ministry says its top official Doris Leuthard plans to travel to Tokyo on Feb. 19 to sign the treaty. The ministry said in a statement Friday that the pact would be the first of its kind between a European nation and Japan, the world's second biggest economy behind the United States.
Both countries shield much of their farm markets from foreign competition, and the deal will probably provide little in new agricultural trade. It will likely concentrate on industrial and services trade.
The negotiations started two years ago.
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