TOKYO, March 10 (UPI) -- Japan and Mexico reached broad accord in Tokyo Wednesday on a free-trade pact, ending their 18 months of tough negotiations, the Japan Times reported.
"We have reached a broad agreement in a package including the industrial sector and other areas," Japan's Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa told a news conference.
If there are no other problems, the two countries will make the accord final by the end of this month, making Mexico the second country to conclude an FTA with Japan, after Singapore.
It will also represent the first time Japan has agreed to a comprehensive free-trade package involving the agricultural sector, the report said.
Agriculture was not a sensitive issue in the FTA with Singapore, which is not a major farm exporter.
Mexico had threatened to discontinue the talks if the two sides had made no progress by the end of March.
The contentious issues had been in the industrial sector, such as steel and automobiles.
