EU and Japan finalise Economic Partnership Agreement
The conclusion of the EU i-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement is an important milestone to put in place the biggest bilateral trade agreement
Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono announced today the successful conclusion of the final discussions on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.
The way to today's outcome was paved by the strong personal engagement of the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe throughout the process and notably in 2017 at the occasion of their meetings held in Brussels, in March and in the margins of the G7 Summit in Taormina, in May.
After confirming the conclusion of this process in a phone call with Prime Minister Abe earlier today, President Jean-Claude Juncker said: "This is the EU at its best, delivering both on form and on substance. The EU and Japan send a powerful message in defence of open, fair and rules-based trade. This agreement enshrines common values and principles, and brings tangible benefits to both sides while safeguarding each other's sensitivities. In line with the commitment made in July, we finalised the discussions before the end of the year. We will now do the necessary to submit the agreement to the European Parliament and EU's Member States so that our companies and citizens can start exploring its full potential before the end of the mandate of my Commission."
The conclusion of these negotiations is an important milestone to put in place the biggest bilateral trade agreement ever negotiated by the European Union.
The Economic Partnership Agreement will open huge market opportunities for both sides, strengthen cooperation between Europe and Japan in a range of areas, reaffirm their shared commitment to sustainable development, and include for the first time a specific commitment to the Paris climate agreement.
The Economic Partnership Agreement will remove the vast majority of the €1 billion of duties paid annually by EU companies exporting to Japan, as well as a number of long-standing regulatory barriers. It will also open up the Japanese market of 127 million consumers to key EU agricultural exports and will increase EU export opportunities in a range of other sectors.
Related links
Press release on agreement in Principle (July 2017)
24th EU-Japan Summit Joint Statement (July 2017)
Memo: key elements of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
Thematic factsheets on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
Infographics on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
Exporters' stories: European exporters entering the Japanese market
Agreed chapters and negotiating documents
Transparency in the negotiations: meetings and documents