FEDERAL Labor says Prime Minister Tony Abbott shouldn't sign up to a token trade agreement with Japan.
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Mr Abbott is in Tokyo to finalise a free trade deal with Japan and is due to meet Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace before an announcement.
Negotiators in Tokyo have failed to reach an agreement so far, but Mr Abbott is confident a deal can be struck.
The deal is understood to be hinged on Japan agreeing to slash its high tariffs on beef, a concession it's been unwilling to grant in past trade agreements.
Opposition trade spokeswoman Penny Wong said a deal should not be struck for the sake of it, and must be of ``high quality'' so as to deliver real outcomes for Australian business.
In particular, it must have a good outcome for Australian beef producers.
``What we don't want is a focus on getting a trade agreement for Tony Abbott's trophy cabinet which aren't the best trade agreements the country can get,'' Senator Wong told ABC radio yesterday.
She said if the outcome was worse than the South Korean free trade agreement, then the government had ``some explaining to do''.
Mr Abbott promised at the September election to secure free trade deals with Japan, China and South Korea within 12 months, despite some negotiations having dragged on for years.