Updated By: LatestGKGS Desk
Economic Partnership Agreement: EU-Japan signs biggest free trade deal: Details
Economic Partnership Agreement: EU-Japan signs biggest free trade deal: Details, Highlights, Significance
The European Union and Japan have signed one of the world's biggest free trade deals, covering nearly a third of the world's GDP.
The agreement was signed at EU-Japan summit in Tokyo by EU Presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The agreement shows the unshaken political will of Japan and the EU to lead the world as the champions of free trade at a time when protectionism has spread.
The move contrasts sharply with the actions of the United States Donald Trump administration, which has introduced steep import tariffs.
Under the EU-Japan agreement, Japan will scrap almost all its tariffs on EU goods, particularly dairy items like cheese.
The EU will also eliminate about 99 percent of its tariffs on Japanese goods, including removing levies on Japanese cars and scrapping tariffs on car parts.
Significance
EPA removes the vast majority of €1 billion of duties paid annually by EU companies exporting to Japan and number of long-standing regulatory barriers, for example on cars.
It opens up Japanese market of 127 million consumers to key EU agricultural exports and will increase EU export opportunities in the range of other sectors. In addition, it will strengthen cooperation between Europe and Japan in a range of areas, reaffirm their shared commitment to sustainable development. It also includes for the first time a specific commitment to the Paris climate agreement.
