Ivo Belet (PPE), in writing. – (NL) The European car industry is good for 12 million jobs, has been hit hard by the financial-economic crisis and by ever increasing competition from third countries. Today we are facing the prospect of possible negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and Japan. We must be very careful here not to put the car industry under even more pressure. Just look at Ford Genk in Belgium, where there is currently great social unrest due to the possible restructuring/closure of the factory. We must ensure that the guarantee that we build in today, namely the eradication by Japan of the non-tariff barriers that impact upon the car industry, will be complied with in the future. This is the only way that our companies can compete fairly with Japanese companies. We should come to a judgment about the abolition of the non-tariff barriers within the year and on that basis take a decision on a future free trade agreement with Japan.