The European Union's trade chief pushed Europe on Wednesday towards an ambitious trade deal with Japan despite opposition from carmakers, saying the region's auto industry could not make trade a scapegoat for its falling sales, Reuters reported. The European Union is trying to sign free-trade deals across the globe to lock in access to fast-growing economies after years of failure to seal the 10-year old Doha round of global trade talks. Auto and autopart companies, however, worry about being undercut by imports while being kept out of closed markets abroad. "If growth in the next 20 years is likely to come from Asia, then overlooking Japan would be a serious mistake in our trade strategy," Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in a speech following the European Commission's decision to ask EU countries for a mandate to negotiate with Japan on their behalf. Japan has struggled to deliver more than 1-2 percent growth for the most of the past two decades but remains one of the world's largest and wealthiest economies; its markets would be a shot in the arm for a euro zone now threatened by a similar syndrome of high debt and inflation outpacing growth. EU governments are expected to support the Commission at the next leaders' summit in October, giving it the mandate to negotiate with Japan on behalf of the bloc's members. A first round of talks could start early next year. "We are trying to open markets for our industries, and industries must make sure there is a demand for their products," De Gucht later told reporters. "That is a very fundamental rule in trade. If you look at the automotive sector, then you see why this is a fundamental truth."
