BRUSSELS • Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and top European Union officials agreed yesterday to the broad outline of a landmark trade deal, presented as a direct challenge to the protectionism championed by US President Donald Trump..
BRUSSELS • Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and top European Union officials agreed yesterday to the broad outline of a landmark trade deal, presented as a direct challenge to the protectionism championed by US President Donald Trump.
The breakthrough capped four years of talks and came on the eve of a G-20 meeting in Germany at which Mr Trump is expected to defend his “America First” stance on world trade.
“Today, we agreed in principle on an Economic Partnership Agreement (with Japan) , the impact of which goes far beyond our shores, ” European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said at a press conference with Mr Abe and EU President Donald Tusk in Brussels.
The EU and Japanese economies combined account for more than a quarter of global output, making the deal one of the biggest trade pacts ever.
“We were able to demonstrate a strong political will so that the EU and Japan take the lead on free trade, ” Mr Abe said just hours before he was due to meet Mr Trump at the G-20 meeting in Hamburg.
With the deal, the EU is seeking access to one of the world’s richest markets, while Japan hopes to jump-start an economy that has struggled to find solid growth for more than a decade.
Japan is also hoping to seize an opportunity after the failure of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, torpedoed in January by Mr Trump.
