EU backs free trade talks with Japan

BRUSSELS -- European Union foreign ministers say they have agreed to open free trade negotiations with Japan. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht says an agreement would generate about 400,000 jobs in Europe and boost GDP by 0.8 percent. The EU also is close to concluding free trade agreements with Canada and Singapore, and is looking at ways to boost trade with the United States, which currently amounts to about $2.3 billion a day...