NEWS

The relations between Europe and Japan will receive a great boost with the signing of an important trade agreement and a strategic partnership that will face challenges such as climate change.

Although the EU and Japan already enjoy good relations, they have agreed to improve their partnership in the face of increased international tensions and protectionism.

The European Parliament gave its approval to the free trade agreement between the EU and Japan, the largest bilateral trade agreement concluded by the Union.

The proposed trade agreement will make it easier for European companies to export to Japan. In addition, the strategic partnership will boost cooperation to address common challenges such as security and the environment.

Commerce

EU companies export more than 58,000 million euros in goods and 28,000 million euros in services to Japan per year. However, the trade agreement will go further by trying to eliminate the remaining barriers to trade. This includes eliminating 90% of tariffs in more than 90% of EU exports to Japan. It is expected that this measure will save European exporters approximately 1,000 million euros in customs taxes per year. In addition, Japan will recognize the special status of more than 200 European agricultural products from specific regions, known as geographical indicators. Measures will also be taken to reduce non-tariff barriers, for example, by supporting international standards instead of specific Japanese requirements.

The Portuguese MEP of the socialist group and rapporteur of the proposal, Pedro Silva Pereira, acknowledges that the agreement is being held at an important moment: "The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement sends a timely signal to support open trade. a moment of growing protectionism and an erratic trade policy on the part of the President of the United States, Donald Trump. "

For Silva, the agreement is much more than a stimulus for trade: "This agreement will not only promote closer bilateral economic ties, but also concrete cooperation in the area of ​​sustainable development, such as the fight against climate change. It can also improve coordination on multilateral issues with Japan. It will also help shape the rules for the global economy in accordance with our high standards and shared values ​​of respect for human rights, democracy and laws. "

Strategic partnership

The Strategic Partnership Agreement is a legally binding agreement, which covers cooperation on a wide variety of issues. The person responsible for the report, the Slovenian MEP, Alojz Peterle, of the European People's Party, defends: "It will deepen cooperation with Japan in key sectors, which will deal with issues such as climate change, health research and cybercrime". "This partnership is a response to the current global challenges that transcend borders and also confirms our commitment to an international order based on rules," he adds.

Model for other countries

Both MEPs argued that they saw the agreements as a model of cooperation between countries.

Silva indicates that it is the first EU trade agreement that is committed to the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. "It has dedicated chapters on corporate governance and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) .The agreement also respects the EU's high standards in terms of environmental protection, consumer protection, food safety and labor rights, protects public services and respects the right to regulate ... ", he explains.

"The two agreements have been possible because the EU and Japan are like-minded partners with shared values ​​of democracy and a common vision for global trade and cooperation," confirms Peterle.