BRUSSELS – The European Union has asked Japan to open up its market for goods and services procurement in municipalities with a population of 100,000 or more as the two economic powers work toward signing a free trade agreement, EU documents and sources said Thursday.
While it remains unclear how many EU firms intend to enter the market, a Japanese government source said Tokyo cannot accept the EU’s request since it means about a third of Japan’s 790 municipalities would be subjected to the burden of changing their procurement procedures.
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