A EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement: Toward More Solid Economic Relations
More recently, there are growing signs that their economic ties are actually weakening. But since the EU and Japan share a common set of values (as shown in their commitment to democracy, free-market economic systems, respect for human rights, and the rule of law), it is imperative that they reinforce their ties of cooperation on a range of global issues as well as pursue progress in their own mutual relationship.
In this context, Japan and the EU made efforts to gauge the prospects for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA). Nevertheless, many challenges remain: For Japan, EU tariff rates are the key matter of concern while the EU deems it problematic that Japan still maintains a number of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade, and has insisted that negotiations on an FTA cannot even begin until Japan dismantles these barriers.
Even if further tariff reductions are not expected to have a major impact on the volume of trade between the two partners, a bilateral FTA could still benefit both Japanese and European economies through positive implications on productivity and innovation.
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A EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement: Toward More Solid Economic Relations
Center for Asian Studies
Asia is a nerve center for multiple global economic, political and security challenges. The Center for Asian Studies provides documented expertise and a platform for discussion on Asian issues to accompany decision makers and explain and contextualize developments in the region for the sake of a larger public dialogue.
The Center's research is organized along two major axes: relations between Asia's major powers and the rest of the world; and internal economic and social dynamics of Asian countries. The Center's research focuses primarily on China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, but also covers Southeast Asia, the Korean peninsula and the Pacific Islands.
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