The 7th Round of Negotiations for Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)

October 21, 2008
Japanese

1. The 7th round of negotiations for the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will be held in Canberra from October 27 (Mon) to October 31 (Fri).
2. The participants in the meeting will be: on the Japanese side, Mr. Masaharu Kohno, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, as chief negotiator, and other officials from relevant ministries of Japan; and on the Australian side, Mr. David Spencer, Deputy Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as chief negotiator, and other officials from relevant departments of Australia.
3. Among the issues that will be discussed in the meeting are trade in goods and services, intellectual property, investment, government procurement, energy and mineral resources, and food supply.

(Reference) Background

• April 23-24, 2007: 1st Round of Negotiations held in Canberra
• August 6-10, 2007: 2nd Round of Negotiations held in Tokyo
• November 5-8, 2007: 3rd Round of Negotiations held in Canberra
• February 25-29, 2008: 4th Round of Negotiations held in Tokyo
• April 28 - May 1, 2008: 5th Round of Negotiations held in Canberra
• July 28 - August 1, 2008: 6th Round of Negotiations held in Tokyo