Japan, EU Seal Free Trade Deal

NHK World reports:

Japan and the European Union have reached a broad deal on an Economic Partnership Agreement that will affect about 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced the deal in Brussels.

They confirmed that the two sides settled important issues after four years of negotiations.

The EPA is the first of its kind among large, advanced economies, and would be one of Japan’s biggest trade deals.

The EU is to phase out a tariff on Japanese passenger cars over 7 years.

Japan is to create a quota for European soft cheeses and scrap tariffs on them in 15 years.

Both sides are to abolish import duties on each other’s wines immediately after the EPA takes effect.

The EU is to also immediately remove tariffs on Japanese sake and green tea, and phase out a duty on scallops.

Abe is attending the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, starting on Friday. He is expected to stress the importance of free trade for sustainable growth of world economies.

Source: NHK World, 6 July 2017, https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20170706_33/