LOC15:51
12:51 GMT
TOKYO, July 17 (KUNA) -- The leaders of Japan and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that covers about 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product with some 600 million people.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk signed the deal after their talks in Tokyo.
The FTA is expected to promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment between Japan and the EU, and will further vitalize both economies by strengthening reciprocal economic ties in wide-ranging fields, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The agreement will eliminate about 99 percent of the tariffs on Japanese goods to the EU, and 94 percent for European imports into Japan.
The two sides launched negotiations on the deal in 2013, and reached an agreement in principle July 2017 before finalizing their consultations in December. The two sides aim to have the pact come into force before Britain t leaves the EU next March.
"While protectionist moves are spreading in the world, Japan and the EU clearly show the world the unwavering political will to lead the world as a standard-bearer of free trade," Abe told a joint press conference with Juncker and Tusk following the signing ceremony. "With a population of about 600 million people, around 30 percent of GDP, one of the world's largest developed economic sphere will be born," said Abe, adding that the FTA will create a big opportunity for agriculture, forestry and fishery companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.
Tusk also said the deal sends a clear message against protectionism, saying, "Together, we are making a statement about the future of free and fair trade.
"We are showing that we are stronger and better off when we work together and we are leading by example, showing that trade is about more than tariffs and barriers," he said.
"As far as we are concerned, there is no protection in protectionism, and there cannot be unity where there is unilateralism," Tusk added.
The signing ceremony was originally supposed to be held in Brussels on July 11, but Abe cancelled his planned visit to the Belgian capital to deal with the torrential rains that killed more than 220 people in western Japan. (pickup previous)
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