EU & Japan

Commission proposes to open negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with Japan

On 18 July the European Commission submitted a proposal to Member States to start negotiations with Japan on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Priority in the negotiations will be the elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade on the Japanese market, as well as access to Japan's public procurement market.
Japan is the EU’s second biggest trading partner in Asia, after China, and together with the EU accounts for more than a third of world GDP. A trade deal with Japan could boost the EU's economy by 0.8% and EU exports to Japan could increase by 32.7%, while Japanese exports to the EU would increase by 23.5%.