Great Britain And Japan Have Agreed On A Trade Agreement

Great Britain And Japan Have Agreed On A Trade Agreement

According to official information from London, Great Britain and Japan have agreed on a trade agreement. It was the first major agreement of the United Kingdom as an "independent trading nation", announced the British ministry responsible. It should apply from January 1, 2021 and ensure that 99 percent of British exports to Japan are duty-free. The agreement with Japan is an agreement in principle, concluded via video conference, and has yet to be signed. It builds on the trade agreement between the EU and Japan that came into force last year but no longer applies to the UK.

Ministry: Goes "far" beyond EU agreements

Trade with Japan could grow by around 15.2 billion pounds (about 16.5 billion euros) annually with the agreement, it said. The digital and data agreements went "far" beyond the provisions of the EU trade agreement with Japan and supported British fintech companies operating in the Asian country, the ministry said. Both Japan and Great Britain are among the largest economies in the world. In the course of the difficult Brexit negotiations, the agreement is therefore of great importance for Great Britain, both economically and politically.

Negotiations with the EU at a dead end

Great Britain left the EU on January 31, and a transitional agreement will be in place until the end of the year. The negotiations between the British government and the EU on a free trade agreement after the end of this transition phase are currently at a dead end. The British government surprisingly announced this week that it would unilaterally change the Brexit treaty that was passed in January. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was sharply criticized for this from the EU, the EU states but also from the ranks of the British ruling party.