To mark two years since the start of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership, trade representatives from Brussels and Tokyo met to expand the scope of what is already one of the world's largest free trade agreements.
EU & Japan flags
The Joint Committee that was established as part of the Agreement, co-chaired by Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi, agreed on several additions.
Read more: EU-Japan trade agreement comes into force
Each side added a further 28 Geographical Indications (GIs) - designations for products from a geographical area that owe their quality or reputation to their geographical origin - to the standing list. GIs act like intellectual property law, protecting producers and consumers from similar but lower quality products.
Some of the EU products on the list include Cassis de Dijon, Kalamata olive oil and Cariñena wine.
The EU and Japan also made exporting vehicles to one another easier. The list of safety requirements that do not require double approval has been expanded meaning that a vehicle with certification in the EU will not be checked for compliance in Japan, and vice versa. The new vehicle requirements now also cover rapidly-growing new and green technologies in the sector such as hybrid and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles.
Japan has recently updated its wine standards to bring them closer in line with the EU ones, authorising a number of winemaking European practices and meaning wine from the bloc can more easily reach Japanese markets.
The procedures for claiming and obtaining tariff preferences have also been simplified. This has made it easier for EU companies to export to Japan, in particular, small businesses who often do not have resources to explore and make use of complicated rules.
Read more: UK applies for membership of Trans-Pacific free trade group
The EU and Japan make up for around a quarter of global GDP and bilateral trade reaches some €170 billion a year.
Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said: “The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement is one of our most important deals... and has made trading easier and cheaper for both EU and Japanese producers; it has helped farmers and manufacturers alike.
"This is very welcome as we work to rebuild economic growth following the Covid-19 pandemic. But the EU-Japan relationship goes beyond bilateral trade. We both stand for rules-based, open global trade and a strong World Trade Organization,” he added.
Back to Homepage
Back to Consumer Goods
Back to Politics & Economics