A government panel endorsed two interim reports Friday calling for the government, businesses and academia to work together to prepare for a new round of global trade negotiations scheduled to begin in 2000.
Presented at a meeting of the WTO Committee of the Industrial Structure Council, an advisory panel to the minister of international trade and industry, the two interim reports spell out strategies for Japan to follow in the upcoming round of multilateral negotiations under the World Trade Organization.
A report on trade and investment stresses the importance for Japan to get the Geneva-based trade watchdog to decide on rules governing investments to encompass economically troubled Asia and other developing countries.