The agreement will further improve the position of EU exporters and investors on Japan's large market, while including strong guarantees for the protection of EU standards and values. It will help cement Europe's leadership in setting global trade rules and send a powerful signal that cooperation, not protectionism, is the way to tackle global challenges. Following the breakthrough announced at the EU-Japan Summit held in Brussels on 6 July 2017, the negotiators finalised their work on 8 December 2017. On 18 April 2018, the text of the agreement was presented by the Commission to the Council. This step marks the beginning of the ratification process at the EU level. This is the first step towards the signature and conclusion of the agreement. Once approved by the Council, the agreement will be sent to the European Parliament, aiming for the entry into force before the end of the current mandate of the European Commission in 2019.

At the same time, negotiations with Japan continue on investment protection standards and investment protection dispute resolution. The firm commitment on both sides is to move towards an agreement in the investment protection negotiations as soon as possible, in light of the shared commitment to a stable and secure investment environment in Europe and Japan.

Transparency

Throughout the negotiation, the Commission has put transparency first. The Commission negotiated based on a mandate approved unanimously by all EU governments. Member States and the European Parliament have been informed each step of the way. Dozens of meetings to discuss the ongoing negotiations were held with members of national parliaments and civil society. The Commission madenegotiating documents and reports of the negotiating rounds available online. On the day of the announcement of a political agreement, the Commission published the political agreement sent to all 28 EU capitals and the European Parliament to inform them about what was agreed. Following the finalisation of the negotiations on 8 December 2017 all the texts of the agreement were immediatelymade available online.

An Economic Partnership Agreement

Since the beginning of the negotiations in 2013, the agreement negotiated with Japan has grown in scope and depth to an extent that is more accurately reflected in the designation "Economic Partnership Agreement". In the same vein as other agreements concluded recently by the EU, the partnership with Japan goes beyond trade issues only. This is a significant strengthening of our partnership which will be further developed. The name of the agreement has no legal implications.

Elimination of customs duties – tariffs on more than 90% of the EU's exports to Japan will be eliminated at entry into force of the economic partnership. Once the agreement is fully implemented, Japan will have scrapped customs duties on 97% of goods imported from the EU (in tariff lines), with the remaining tariff lines being subject to partial liberalisation through tariff rate quotas or tariff reductions. This, in turn, will save EU exporters around €1 billion in customs duties per year.

Agriculture and food products– Japan is a highly valuable export market for European farmers and food producers. With annual exports worth over €5.7 billion, Japan is already the EU's fourth biggest market for agricultural exports. Over time around 85% of EU agri-food products (in tariff lines) will be allowed to enter Japan entirely duty-free. This corresponds to 87% of current agri-food exports by value.

The agreement will eliminate or sharply reduce duties on agricultural products in which the EU has a major export interest, such as pork, the EU's main agricultural export to Japan, ensuring duty-free trade with processed pork meat and almost duty-free trade for fresh pork meat exports. Tariffs on beefwill be cut from 38.5% to 9% over 15 years for a significant volume of beef products.

EU wine exports to Japan are already worth around €1 billion and represent the EU's second biggest agricultural export to Japan by value. The tariffs on wine (presently at 15%) will be scrapped from day one, as will tariffs for other alcoholic drinks. In addition, a process was put in place to facilitate and accelerate the approval by Japan of key additives used by European producers.

As regards cheese exports, where the EU is already the main player on the Japanese market, high duties on many hard cheeses such as Gouda and Cheddar (which currently are at 29.8%) will be eliminated, and a duty-free quota will be established for fresh cheeses such as Mozzarella. The EU-Japan agreement will also scrap today's customs duties (with a transitional period) for processed agricultural products such as pasta, chocolates, cocoa powder, candies, confectionary, biscuits, starch derivatives, prepared tomatoes and tomato sauce. There will also be significant quotas for EU exports (duty-free or with reduced duty) of malt, potato starch, skimmed milk powder, butter and whey.

Geographical Indications– the EU-Japan agreement recognises the special status and offers protection on the Japanese market to more than 200 European agricultural products from a specific geographical origin, known as Geographical Indications (GIs) – for instance Roquefort, Aceto Balsamico di Modena, Prosecco, Jambon d'Ardenne, Tiroler Speck, Polska Wódka, Queso Manchego, Lübecker Marzipan and Irish Whiskey. These products will be given the same level of protection in Japan as they have in the EU today.

Industrial products– tariffs on industrial products will be fully abolished, for instance in sectors where the EU is very competitive, such as chemicals, plastics, cosmetics as well as textiles and clothing. Forleather and shoes, the existing quota system that has been significantly hampering EU exports will be abolished at the agreement's entry into force. Tariffs on shoes will be cut from 30% to 21% at entry into force, with the rest of the duties being eliminated over 10 years. Tariffs on EU exports of leather products, such as handbags, will be eliminated over 10 years, as will be those on products that are traditionally highly protected by Japan, such as sports shoes and ski boots.

Fisheries –all tariffs will be eliminated on both sides, meaning better prices for EU consumers and big export opportunities for EU industry.

Forestry – tariffs on all wood products will be fully eliminated, with seven years staging for the most important priorities. Most tariffs on wood products will be dropped immediately, with some less important tariff lines being scrapped after 10 years.

Whaling and illegal logging

The EU has banned all imports of whale products for more than 35 years, and this will not change with the Economic Partnership Agreement. The EU and its Member States are committed to the conservation and protection of whales and have consistently expressed their strong concerns about whaling for scientific purposes. Whales receive special protection under EU law and the EU strictly enforces the ban on trade under the international Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The EU addresses whaling by all third countries, including Japan, both in bilateral relations and the international fora that are best suited to deal with this issue – for example, at the International Whaling Commission, where we work with like-minded partners to address whaling with Japan. When it comes to the agreement announced today, it will include a chapter on sustainable development which will provide for an additional platform to foster dialogue and joint work between the EU and Japan on environmental issues in a trade context.

The EU and Japan share a common commitment to combat illegal logging and related trade and this will be reflected in the text of the agreement. The EU has a very clear legislation on illegal logging, just like Japan. Both partners have surveillance and certification systems in place to prevent the import of illegal timber. The two partners also work closely with third countries to support them in setting up efficient mechanisms to address the problem.

Non-tariff barriers – the EU-Japan negotiations addressed many non-tariff measures that had constituted a concern for EU companies, as some Japanese technical requirements and certification procedures often make it difficult to export safe European products to Japan. The agreement will go a long way in facilitating the access of EU companies to the highly regulated Japanese market. Examples of such barriers that were successfully addressed include:

• Motor vehicles – the agreement ensures that both Japan and the EU will fully align themselves to the same international standards on product safety and the protection of the environment, meaning that European cars will be subject to the same requirements in the EU and Japan, and will not need to be tested and certified again when exported to Japan. With Japan now committing itself to international car standards, EU exports of cars to Japan will be significantly simplified. This also paves the way for even stronger cooperation between the EU and Japan in international standard-setting fora. It includes an accelerated dispute settlement between the two sides specifically for motor vehicles. It also includes a safeguard and a clause allowing the EU to reintroduce tariffs in the event that Japan would (re)introduce non-tariff barriers to EU exports of vehicles. The agreement will also mean that hydrogen-fuelled cars that are approved in the EU can be exported to Japan without further alterations.
• Medical devices – In November 2014, Japan adopted the international standard on quality management systems (QMS), on which the EU QMS system for medical devices is based. This reduces the costs of certification of European products exported to Japan considerably.
• Textiles labelling – In March 2015, Japan adopted the international textiles labelling system similar to the one used in the EU. Textiles labels therefore do no longer need to be changed on every single garment exported to Japan, as was the case before.
• "Quasi drugs", medical devices and cosmetics - a complicated and duplicative notification system that hampered the marketing of many European pharmaceuticals, medical devices and cosmetics in Japan was finally abolished on 1 January 2016.
• Beer - From 2018 onwards, European beers can be exported as beers and not as "alcoholic soft drinks". This will also lead to similar taxation, thus doing away with differences between different beers.

In addition, the Economic Partnership Agreement also contains general rules on certain types of non-tariff barriers, which will help level the playing field for European products exported to Japan, and increase transparency and predictability:

• Technical barriers to trade – the agreement puts the focus on Japan and the EU's mutual commitment to ensure that their standards and technical regulations are based on international standards to the greatest possible extent. Combined with the provisions on non-tariff measures, this is good news for European exporters of electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles and chemicals. For instance, reliance on international standards will be helpful for easier and less costly compliance of food products with Japanese labelling rules.
• Sanitary and phytosanitary measures – the agreement creates a more predictable regulatory environment for EU products exported to Japan. The EU and Japan have agreed to simplify approval and clearance processes and that import procedures are completed without undue delays, making sure that excessive bureaucracy does not put a spanner in the works for exporters. The agreement will not lower safety standards or require parties to change their domestic policy choices on matters such as the use of hormones or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Trade in services– the EU exports some €28 billion of services to Japan each year. The agreement will make it easier for EU firms to provide services on the highly lucrative Japanese market. The agreement contains a number of provisions that apply horizontally to all trade in services, such as a provision to reaffirm the Parties' right to regulate. It maintains the right of EU Member States' authorities to keeppublic services public and it will not force governments to privatise or deregulate any public service at national or local level. Likewise, Member States' authorities retain the right to bring back to the public sector any privately provided services. Europeans will continue to decide for themselves how they want, for example, their healthcare, education and water delivered.

• Postal and courier services – the agreement includes provisions on universal service obligations, border procedures, licences and the independence of the regulators. The agreement will also ensure a level-playing field between EU suppliers of postal and courier services and their Japanese competitors, such as Japan Post.
• Telecommunications – the agreement includes provisions focused on establishing a level-playing field for telecommunications services providers and on issues such as universal service obligations, number portability, mobile roaming and confidentiality of communications.
• International maritime transport services – the agreement contains obligations to maintain open and non-discriminatory access to international maritime services (transport and related services) as well as access to ports and port services.
• Financial services – the agreement contains specific definitions, exceptions and disciplines on new financial services, self-regulating organisations, payment and clearing systems and transparency, and rules on insurance services provided by postal entities. Many of these are based on rules developed under the World Trade Organisation, while addressing specificities of the financial services sector.
• Temporary movement of company personnel – the agreement includes the most advanced provisions on movement of people for business purposes (otherwise known as "mode 4") that the EU has negotiated so far. They cover all traditional categories such as intra-corporate transferees, business visitors for investment purposes, contractual service suppliers, and independent professionals, as well as newer categories such as short-term business visitors and investors. The EU and Japan have also agreed to allow spouses and children to accompany those who are either service suppliers or who work for a service supplier (covered by so-called "mode 4" provisions). This will, in turn, support investment in both directions.

State owned enterprises– state-owned enterprises will not be allowed to treat EU companies, services or products differently to their Japanese counterparts when buying and selling on commercial markets. The aim is to ensure a level-playing field between public and private companies.

Public procurement– EU companies will be able to participate on an equal footing with Japanese companies in bids for procurement tenders in the 48 so-called 'core cities' of Japan with around 300.000 to 500.00 inhabitants. The agreement also removes existing obstacles to procurement in the railway sector.

Data protection

Data protection is a fundamental right in the European Union and is therefore not up for negotiation. Privacy is not a commodity to be traded. Since January 2017, the European Union and Japan are in a dialogue to facilitate the transfers of personal data for commercial exchanges, while ensuring the highest level of data protection. The aim is to bridge data protection laws through a so called "mutual adequacy decision" which will guarantee high standards of data protection in both the EU and Japan. Such adequacy decisions can complement trade agreements and amplify their benefits. An adequacy decision is taken by the Commission establishing that a third country provides a comparable level of protection of personal data to that in the European Union, through its domestic laws or its international commitments (see also the latest statement on this).  

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)– the agreement builds on and reinforces the commitments that both sides have taken in the World Trade Organization (WTO), in line with the EU's own rules. The agreement sets out provisions on protection of trade secrets, trademarks, copyright protection, patents, minimum common rules for regulatory test data protection for pharmaceuticals, and civil enforcement provisions.

Sustainable development– the agreement includes all the key elements of the EU approach on sustainable development and is in line with other recent EU trade agreements. The EU and Japan commit themselves to implementing the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and international environmental agreements, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the Paris climate agreement. The EU and Japan commit not to lower domestic labour and environmental laws to attract trade and investment. The parties also commit themselves to the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources, and to addressing biodiversity, forestry, and fisheries issues. The EU and Japan agree to promote Corporate Social Responsibility and other trade and investment practices supporting sustainable development. The agreement sets up mechanisms for giving civil society oversight over commitments taken in the field of Trade and Sustainable Development. The agreement will also have a dedicated, binding mechanism for resolving disputes in this area, which includes governmental consultations and recourse to an independent panel of experts.

Corporate governance– for the first time in an EU trade agreement, there will be a specific chapter on corporate governance. It is based on the G20/OECD's Principles on Corporate Governance and reflects the EU's and Japan's best practices and rules in this area. The EU and Japan commit themselves to adhere to key principles and objectives, such as transparency and disclosure of information on publicly listed companies; accountability of the management towards shareholders; responsible decision-making based on an objective and independent standpoint; effective and fair exercise of shareholders' rights; and transparency and fairness in takeover transactions.

Competition – the agreement contains important principles that ensure that both sides commit themselves to maintaining comprehensive competition rules and implementing these rules in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner.

State-to-State dispute settlement mechanism – the agreement ensures that rights and obligations under the agreement are fully observed. It provides an effective, efficient and transparent mechanism with a pre-established list of qualified and experienced panellists for avoiding and solving disputes between the EU and Japan.

Anti-Fraud – on the basis of an EU proposal, the EU and Japan will include an anti-fraud clause in the economic partnership agreement. The anti-fraud clause is a condition for the EU to grant tariff preferences to any third country. It makes it possible for the EU to withdraw tariff preferences in cases of fraud and refusal to co-operate, while ensuring that legitimate traders are not adversely affected. The aim is to prevent abuse of preferential tariff treatment.

Smaller companies – a specific chapter will enable smaller companies to benefit fully from the agreement, notably through increased transparency. Lack of access to information can represent a trade barrier, particularly for smaller firms. Both the EU and Japan therefore commit to setting up a specific website to provide information relevant to smaller companies on how to access their markets. There will also be dedicated small business contact points to manage the issues raised in this chapter and to deal with issues relevant to smaller companies in other areas of the agreement.

For More Information

Press release

Text of the agreement

More on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement

Focus page with photo and video material from the negotiations

Thematic factsheets and infographics on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement

Exporters' stories: European exporters entering the Japanese market

More on trade relations between the EU and Japan

Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)

July 12, 2018 

https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/fta/index.html

互免99%关税！日本欧盟打造全球最大贸易区 美国遭殃，汽车、农业将损失惨重！

汽车零关税，世界最大自贸区来了！覆盖全球30%GDP，日本成大赢家

还记得在G7峰会上那张各国领导人“围攻”特朗普的照片吗？自从特朗普宣布要对其主要贸易伙伴加征关税以来，美国的许多传统盟友都表达了其失望和遗憾。

作为二战后日本和欧洲经济复兴的最大帮手，美国这一举动实在是令自己的一众小弟“伤透了心”，于是，不少美国的盟友都开始采取措施，除了向美国征税外，还要“抛下”美国，自己“单干”了。

据华尔街日报、彭博社等媒体报道，东京当地时间本周二，日本和欧盟方面的领导人签署了“经济伙伴协定（Economic Partnership Agreement）”，双方将共同创建世界上最大的自由贸易区之一，这也与美国与其几个贸易伙伴之间近段时间不断升级的贸易争端形成鲜明对比。

这项“经济伙伴协定”开始于2013年，在经过4年谈判之后，日本和欧盟于去年12月就自贸协议文本达成一致。该协定将在日本国会和欧洲议会审批后正式生效。

▲7月17日，日本首相安倍晋三与欧洲理事会主席图斯克、欧盟委员会主席容克签署经济伙伴关系协定

（图片来源：东方IC）

覆盖30%全球经济总量+6亿多人口

每日经济新闻（微信号：nbdnews）记者注意到，欧盟和日本的此次签署的贸易协议是欧盟方面规模最大的一次，该协议不仅将消除欧洲公司每年约11.7亿美元的关税，还将消除日本对欧盟28个成员国每年约23.4亿美元的关税。欧盟和日本之间的商品和服务业贸易总额约为1000亿美元。

欧洲理事会主席图斯克（Donald Tusk）在与日本首相安倍晋三、欧盟委员会主席容克（Jean-Claude Juncker）举行新闻发布会时表示：“我们释放了一个明确的信号：我们将共同反对（贸易）保护主义。”

▲图片来源：欧盟官网

华尔街日报报道称，日本和欧盟的协议取消了大部分的双边关税，为在欧盟销售的日本汽车以及在日本销售的欧洲葡萄酒和奶制品等产品创造了更有利的条件。根据欧盟的说法，双方此次达成的“经济伙伴协定”是欧盟有史以来通过谈判达成的最大规模贸易协定。

据世界银行统计数据显示，欧盟和日本2017年GDP合计达到了约22.07万亿美元，超过了美国的19万亿美元，占到全球经济产出的30%左右，覆盖人口超过6亿。

彭博社报道称，根据这项协议，欧盟取消了约99％的对日本商品的关税，日本取消约94%的对欧盟商品关税，这一比例未来数年内也将上升到99％。存在这一差异的原因是大米，这种产品在日本具有文化和政治敏感性，已经受到数十年的保护。

日本或成最大赢家

随着日本取消对奶酪、葡萄酒和猪肉的关税，预计欧盟的农产品出口将受到“经济伙伴协定”的推动。根据欧盟的数据，经加工食品的出口可能会因此增加180%。德国农业智库Thunen研究所表示，预计从欧盟到日本的猪肉和禽肉出口将大幅增加。“经济伙伴协定”还将开放日本市场，为日本提供更多以欧盟为基础的服务，并让欧盟开发商获得日本公共基础设施项目，如铁路等。欧盟估计，欧洲有60万个工作岗位与对日本的贸易有关。

日本预计这项协定可促进GDP增长1%，即5万亿日元，并增加约29万个就业机会。日本与欧盟达成贸易协议的主要目的是增加汽车出口。根据该协议，欧盟将在八年内将目前10%的汽车关税降至零。虽然汽车和汽车零部件约占日本对欧洲出口的五分之一，但日本汽车在欧洲市场的份额仅为10％左右，远低于在美国或亚洲的份额。今日美国报道中称，双方的此项协议还预计将使欧盟对日本的化学品出口增加22%、机械工程方面的出口将增加16%。日本的计算机、电力和汽车行业都有望从这项协议中获益。

据路透社报道，日本政府去年12月预测，一旦此项协议得到完全实施，将会使日本经济增长率在未来10-20年内提高1%。

受此消息影响，纽交所上市的日本汽车股逆市走高——丰田收涨1.5%、本田收涨1.68%。东京交易所方面，截至周三午休，马自达涨1.74%、斯巴鲁涨1.35%、日产涨0.34%。

▲图片来源：英为财经（investing）

除了与欧盟达成的这项最新协议外，日本同时还在致力于其他的贸易协定，其中包括一项影响深远的跨太平洋协定（TPP），涉及澳大利亚、墨西哥、越南和其他国家/地区，2017年初，美国宣布退出TPP之后，日本开始发挥主导作用主导。

日本NHK电视台7月18日报道称，签署环太平洋伙伴关系协定(TPP)的11个国家，18日在日本神奈川县举行首席谈判代表会议。

报道称，此次会议为期两天，除确认各国为协定的生效而进行的准备工作外，预计还将讨论与希望参加协定的国家和地区进行预先磋商的问题。担任主席的日本代表梅本和义在会议上表示，期待协定能在2019年早日生效。他还说，“希望从今天着手生效的准备工作”。

日本政府希望在与增强贸易保护主义动向的每股进行贸易磋商前，通过签署日欧经济合作协定以及促进TPP早日生效，强化与重视自由贸易的各国的合作。

欧盟已与多国达成贸易协定

每日经济新闻（微信号：nbdnews）记者注意到，在特朗普上台以来，欧盟就发起了一系列的贸易攻势，并试图通过加速正在进行的谈判和开始新的谈判，来平衡特朗“美国优先”的政策。日本和墨西哥之前就是欧盟方面的首要目标，因为欧盟不仅珍视这两个国家的经济价值，还希望通过拉近与美国长期贸易伙伴的距离，传递出一种信息。

此外，特朗普政府最近宣布对进口铝和钢铁分别征收10%和25%的措施，也对欧盟和日本造成不同程度打击。随后，欧盟对波旁威士忌和哈雷戴维森摩托车等美国产品征收报复性关税，并对美国在WTO征收金属关税的国家安全理由提出质疑。与此同时，日本也向WTO提交文件，保留对美国采取类似行动的权利。特朗普政府考虑对日本主要出口产品——汽车征收关税的举动，也同样令日本政府感到担忧。

日本和欧盟的共同努力也很快得到了回报——早在去年7月，欧盟和日本领导人就达成了一项协议，发出了支持全球自由贸易的强烈信号；去年9月，欧盟和加拿大具有里程碑意义的贸易协定生效；今年4月，墨西哥和欧洲联盟达成一项原则性协议，在美国重新谈判北美自由贸易协定、对进口钢铝产品征收高关税等背景下，“升级”将近20年前签署的自贸协定条款，以期扩大双方农业等领域贸易。

与此同时，欧盟还重启了与拉丁美洲最大贸易集团——南方共同市场（MERCOSUR，包括阿根廷、巴西、巴拉圭和乌拉圭）的谈判，试图成为第一个进入这个受到严密保护市场的外部经济体。上个月，欧盟启动了与澳大利亚和新西兰的官方会谈，这也是欧盟扩大全球贸易联系的最新一项举措。

相对而言，日本是最近几年才转向自由贸易的国家。多年以来，日本一直拒绝向外国产品开放其国内经济。但在安倍的经济策略指导下，日本也采取了一项新战略，即允许更多的进口产品，迫使本土企业在全球范围内更具有竞争力，同时也在海外开拓新的市场。

此次欧盟和日本还在数据流方面达成了一项协议，承认了彼此在传输和隐私保护方面的框架是对等的。欧盟表示，该协议将在不损害个人数据的前提下，促进跟深层次的经济一体化。双方还称赞该协议创造了“世界上最大的数据安全流动领域”。

不过，记者也注意到，虽然美国和欧盟在关税问题上势同水火，但在6月下旬的G7峰会结束后，美国曾表示愿意向欧盟汽车业提供“零关税”解决方案，德国《法兰克福汇报》7月5日报道称，美国驻德国大使格雷内尔近日对德国车企高管表示，若欧盟完全取消对美汽车进口关税，特朗普也将对欧洲进口车实施“零关税”。

当天，德国总理默克尔表示，她准备支持欧盟削减对美国汽车的进口关税，这是作为对美国放弃威胁对欧盟汽车征税20%的回应。