In what marks the country’s first bilateral trade agreement ever, Japan entered into a free trade agreement with Singapore last October. The deal represents Japan’s efforts to develop a stronger presence in the region by means of financial and economic ties. Although agricultural trade will probably not be covered in the agreement, it will include areas such as trade in goods, services, regulatory procedures, investment, and competition policy. European Union officials expressed concern that the bilateral agreement would undermine a move to relaunch a new round of global trade talks under the WTO, which Japanese officials conceded was partly behind their decision to pursue a separate agreement with Singapore. Meanwhile, Japan is also mulling over the possibility of a trade agreement with South Korea, while Singapore recently penned an agreement with New Zealand.