Open up beer market to European exports, EU to tell Japan in trade talks

Brussels

JAPAN needs to open up its beer market to European exports if Tokyo and Brussels are to agree on one of the world's biggest free trade deals next year, according to an EU document prepared for the next round of talks in December.

Japan and the European Union are seeking to strike a deal at the end of 2015, but EU countries including France and Germany question Tokyo's willingness to change often little-known rules and product specifications that Europe says serve as trade barriers.