Japan and Mongolia will announce a free trade agreement between the two countries when their leaders meet later on Tuesday, Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj said.
"We are in the stage of concluding" the trade liberalization deal, Elbegdorj said in a speech at a business forum in Tokyo in the morning.
Elbegdorj said that he and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe "will announce (the countries) reached a broad agreement," expressing his hope that the accord will help accelerate trade and investment between the two Asian economies.
In their negotiations, which began in 2012, Japan has called on Mongolia to eliminate a 5 percent tariff on Japanese car imports, while Ulan Bator has asked Tokyo to remove or significantly reduce its 38.5 percent tariff on Mongolian beef.
The size of bilateral trade is relatively small, but Abe apparently aims to leverage closer economic ties to boost their political relations as Japan has partly relied on Mongolian assistance in negotiating with North Korea.
Mongolia has diplomatic ties with North Korea and has provided venues for contact between Japanese and North Korean officials to discuss North Korea's abductions of Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s, an issue that has prevented the two countries from normalizing bilateral relations.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD holds above 1.0700 ahead of key US data
EUR/USD trades in a tight range above 1.0700 in the early European session on Friday. The US Dollar struggles to gather strength ahead of key PCE Price Index data, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, and helps the pair hold its ground.
USD/JPY stays above 156.00 after BoJ Governor Ueda's comments
USD/JPY holds above 156.00 after surging above this level with the initial reaction to the Bank of Japan's decision to leave the policy settings unchanged. BoJ Governor said weak Yen was not impacting prices but added that they will watch FX developments closely.
Gold price oscillates in a range as the focus remains glued to the US PCE Price Index
Gold price struggles to attract any meaningful buyers amid the emergence of fresh USD buying. Bets that the Fed will keep rates higher for longer amid sticky inflation help revive the USD demand.
Sei Price Prediction: SEI is in the zone of interest after a 10% leap
Sei price has been in recovery mode for almost ten days now, following a fall of almost 65% beginning in mid-March. While the SEI bulls continue to show strength, the uptrend could prove premature as massive bearish sentiment hovers above the altcoin’s price.
US core PCE inflation set to signal firm price pressures as markets delay Federal Reserve rate cut bets
The core PCE Price Index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is seen as the more influential measure of inflation in terms of Fed positioning. The index is forecast to rise 0.3% on a monthly basis in March, matching February’s increase.