EU & Japan sign massive trade deal17 Jul 2018 12:51
The European Union and Japan on Tuesday signed the single market’s biggest trade deal ever and present a united front as Washington upends the international trade order.
“While protectionism is spreading in the world, Japan and the European Union will take the lead as flag bearers for free trade,” Abe said in comments echoed by Tusk.
The deal eliminates about 99 per cent of the tariffs on Japanese goods to the EU, but remaining at around 94 per cent for European imports into Japan for now and rising to 99 per cent over the years.
The difference is due to exceptions such as rice, a product that’s culturally and politically sensitive and has been protected for decades in Japan.