The EU and Japan signed an Economic Partnership Agreement

The agreement will remove the vast majority of the € 1 billion of duties paid annually by EU companies exporting to Japan, and has led to the removal of a number of long-standing regulatory barriers, for example on cars. It will also open up the Japanese market of 127 million consumers to key EU agricultural exports and will increase EU export opportunities in a range of other sectors.

The negotiations started in 2013, on July 6, 2017 the European Union and Japan reached an agreement om the main elements of the EU-Japan EPA. The EPA between the EU and Japan is a boost for jobs and exports in the Netherlands. Businesses of all sizes in the Netherlands already export a wide range of goods and services to Japan.

Already 2,804 Dutch companies are exportig to Japan and 90% of these companies are small and medium-sized enterprises. Figures point out that, for instance, products like cocoa powder, fish, crab, peat, car parts, flower bulbs, pharmaceuticals and adhesive tape are being exported from Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam.

Japan is the 5th biggest trade partner of the Netherlands outside the EU. The export goods have a value of € 3.6 bn to Japan and the import of goods from Japan to the Netherlands have a value of € 9.9 bn.

More information

For more information about the Ecomomic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between the EU and Japan can be read on the European Commission website. Please feel free to contact us in case you have any questions. You can contact us by calling +31(0)88-4321800 or send an email to info@pincvision.com.

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Source: European Commission