Japan'S EU Signing The FTA Will Cancel Almost All Tariffs.

European Council president Donald Tuisk, European Commission Chairman Jean Claude Junker and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo signed the "economic partnership agreement" (EPA) on the afternoon of 17 in Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

Japan's Kyodo News quoted Japanese officials as saying that it is the largest free-trade agreement so far as to the size of the participants.

The sum of GDP in Japan and the EU accounts for about 3 of the total global economy.

According to the agreement, the EU will cancel tariffs on 99% imported goods from Japan. Japan will cancel tariffs on 94% EU imports, including 82% of agricultural products and aquatic products. In the next few years, tariffs on imported goods from the 99% EU will be phased out.

A number of international media reported that after the agreement came into effect, Japan's imports of wine, pork, cheese, chocolate, biscuits and other products from the European Union * will drop, and the price of machinery parts, tea and fish exported to the EU will also be lowered.

Chemical products of the European Union,

Exports of daily necessities and beer are expected to increase, while opening to the Japanese auto industry.

In exchange, Japan will cancel trade barriers to the European Union in the field of agricultural products.

Most of these reports mentioned that the "economic partnership agreement" between Japan and Europe is aimed at dealing with the US government's protectionist policy.

The "economic partnership agreement" must be approved by the Japanese parliament and the European Parliament as the EU legislature.

The latter may take several months.

Some EU officials said the European side hoped that the agreement would come into force in early 2019, that is, when Britain formally withdrew from the EU in March 29th of that year.