Economic partnership agreement between the EU and Japan

SUMMARY OF:

Agreement between the EU and Japan for an Economic Partnership

Decision (EU) 2018/1907 — conclusion of the Agreement between the EU and Japan for an Economic Partnership

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE AGREEMENT AND THE DECISION?

They aim to liberalise and facilitate trade and investment and to promote a closer economic partnership between the EU and Japan.
By its decision, the Council approved the conclusion of the agreement on behalf of the EU.

KEY POINTS

The agreement covers a number of elements, including the following.

Removal of customs duties — more than 94% of the EU’s exports to Japan will be duty free, including all industrial products.
Agriculture and food products — eliminates or reduces duties on many of the EU’s most import exports, including wine, meat, cheese and processed products such as pasta, chocolate and tomato sauce.
Geographical locations — protects the special status on the Japanese market of more than 200 European agricultural products from a specific European geographical origin known as a geographical indication, e.g. Roquefort, Rioja, Aceto Balsamico di Modena and Irish Whiskey.
Industrial products — tariffs on most industrial products will be eliminated upon entry into force; tariffs will be progressively abolished in sectors such as chemicals, plastics and cosmetics, as well as textiles and clothing. For leather and shoes, the existing quota system will be abolished at the agreement’s entry into force.
Fisheries — the majority of tariffs will be eliminated by both the EU and Japan.
Forestry — tariffs on all wood products will be fully eliminated; most will be dropped immediately, with some less important tariff lines being scrapped after 10 years.
Non-tariff barriers — the agreement will make it easier for EU companies to access the highly regulated Japanese market by addressing the technical requirements and certification procedures such as those for:
- motor vehicles: both Japan and the EU will follow the same international standards on product safety and the protection of the environment, meaning that EU cars will not need to be tested and certified again when exported to Japan;
- textiles labelling: in March 2015, Japan adopted the international textiles labelling system similar to that of the EU, removing the need for labels to be changed on garments exported to Japan.
Trade in services — contains a number of provisions that apply to all trade in services and that are designed to make it easier for companies of one party to provide services in the other. The agreement sets out rules for a number of sectors, including:
- postal and courier service
- telecommunications
- financial services.
Intellectual property rights — builds on and reinforces the commitments that both sides have taken in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in line with the EU’s own rules. The agreement includes rules on protecting trade secrets, trademarks, copyright protection, patents, minimum common rules for regulatory test data protection for pharmaceuticals, and civil-enforcement provisions.
Data protection — protects the right of parties to implement rules aimed at the protection of personal data. Through a separate ‘mutual adequacy’ arrangement, the EU and Japan have recognised the comparability of their respective data protection systems, thus creating the world’s largest area of safe transfers of data based on a high level of protection for personal data.
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. Commitments include:
- implementing the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and international environmental agreements, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change;
- maintaining domestic labour and environmental laws and refraining from relaxing such laws to attract trade and investment;
- conserving and sustainably managing natural resources and addressing biodiversity, forestry and fisheries issues;
- promoting corporate social responsibility and other trade and investment practices supporting sustainable development.
Competition — both parties commit to maintaining comprehensive competition rules and implementing these rules in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner.

DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE

The agreement entered into force on 1 February 2019.

BACKGROUND

The agreement was negotiated in parallel with a broader Strategic Partnership Agreement between the two parties.

For further information see:

Japan (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an Economic Partnership (OJ L 330, 27.12.2018, pp. 3-899)

Council Decision (EU) 2018/1907 of 20 December 2018 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an Economic Partnership (OJ L 330, 27.12.2018, pp. 1-2)