More on the EU-Japan summit in Tokyo today.
Main results
EU and Japanese leaders signed two landmark agreements to increase their cooperation at the 25th EU-Japan summit:
1) The EU-Japan free trade agreement will remove 99% of tariffs paid by EU companies exporting to Japan. It sends a clear message that the EU and Japan stand together against protectionism.
2) The EU-Japan strategic partnership agreement will boost cooperation between both sides on a wide range of issues beyond trade, such as:
- security and defence
- energy and climate
- people-to-people exchanges
On trade
Leaders signed the EU-Japan free trade agreement (FTA), the largest trade deal ever negotiated by the EU. It will create a trade zone covering 600 million people and nearly a third of global GDP.
Once fully implemented, the free trade agreement will remove most of the duties that EU companies pay annually to export to Japan. It will also eliminate several regulatory barriers.
In addition, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to fight protectionism and to defend the rules-based international trading system. They committed to modernise the World Trade Organisation in line with the conclusions of the Charlevoix G7 Summit.
On cooperation
The EU-Japan strategic partnership agreement was also signed at the summit. This agreement will take the EU’s longstanding partnership with Japan to a new level, with deeper and more strategic cooperation:
Both sides reaffirmed their strong commitment to implement the Paris agreement on climate change by focussing on emission reduction and improving energy efficiency.
Leaders also welcomed the conclusion of the talks on an adequate level of data protection by the EU and Japan. This should create the world’s largest area of safe data transfers with a high level of data protection.
On foreign and security policy
EU and Japanese leaders discussed a range of regional and international issues, including the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula:
Both sides also reiterated their support to the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) as well as to Ukrainian sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
