Japan and the European Union are in the final phase of wrapping up a wide-ranging agreement on free trade early next month, seeking to strike deals on sensitive issues, such as access to the agriculture and automobile markets.
The two sides plan to scrap the 28-member bloc's 10 percent tariff on Japanese cars some 10 years after the trade deal takes effect, sources said recently.
The bloc is also eyeing an immediate elimination of tariffs on around 80 percent of auto parts exported from Japan, which currently stand at 3 to 4.5 percent, the sources said.