EU and Japan showing leadership on trade

BusinessEurope welcomes the finalisation of the free trade agreement between the EU and Japan, which was announced today.

Markus J. Beyrer, Director General of BusinessEurope, said: “It’s very good news for companies and citizens in the EU and Japan. The agreement should remove long standing tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade. It should generate new business opportunities and closer economic ties between two like-minded economies and is of high strategic importance. And it should lead to global standards in new areas of business. Business expectations are high as this agreement should be forward-looking, for instance by setting the right mechanism to address the risk of future non-tariff barriers. We are also confident that both sides will be able to agree in the near future on the best solutions to address the two pending issues of data flows and investment protection”.

European business looks forward to see the final text of the agreement and expects it will match high expectations, among others concerning market access for goods and services, public procurement, and the removal of non-tariff barriers.