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In our calendar, you can find all the events organised or sponsored by the EU-Japan Centre, as well as other events related to EU-Japan relations.
01/10/2010 - Japan, Tokyo
Future Prospects for the EU-Japan Economic Relations (Seminar)
Date: Friday 01 October 2010, 10:30 – 12:00
Place: Tokyo Kaikan, 12th floor, Royal Room (3-2-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo）
Co-organised by: EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Japan
With support of: Delegation of the European Union to Japan, Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (tbc), EU-Japan Business Round Table, European Business Council in Japan, Nippon Keidanren (tbc), German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan
Language: English / Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)
Report
On Friday 1 October 2010, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation organized a business panel discussion on “Future Prospects for the EU-Japan Economic Relations" with former European Commission Vice-President Verheugen, Mr. Yonekura, co-chairman of the EU-Japan Business Roundtable, and Mr. Philippe Avril, General Manager of the BNP Paribas Securities.
The debate underlined the huge untapped potential in EU-Japan trade and investment relations, the Japanese business interest in having tariffs removed in Europe and the EU business interest for Non Tariff Measures (NTMs) to be addressed in Japan. The three speakers recognized that the latter was an extremely difficult and lengthy task because of the vested interests and sometimes legitimate policy purposes behind NTMs? Their removal would require the leadership of the highest political level.
The business panel discussion organized by the EU-Japan Centre was supported by the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the EU-Japan Business Round Table, the European Business Council in Japan, Nippon Keidanren and the Deutsche Industrie und Handelskammer in Japan.
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Professor Verheugen stressed that the EU and Japan were strategic partners sharing the same values but whose trade and investment relations were stagnating or even regressing. The two regions should work on revitalizing bilateral trade, on deepening their regulatory cooperation and partnering on a wider number of strategic issues (research, innovation, common industrial projects). Open markets and fair competition, cornerstones of the European Commission’s new trade policy strategy (to be issued on 6 October 2010), are the solution. The High Level Group, set up in 2010, is discussing on the future of the EU-Japan trade relation (Non Tariff Measures, etc.). On the European side, a Free Trade Agreement is an option, provided that the Japanese is able to deliver real market access in areas such as Government procurement and to effectively remove NTMs for instance in the areas highlighted in the conclusions of the 2009 EU-Japan Summit.
Presentation
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Mr. Yonekura presented the current economic situation in Japan: although a fragile recovery is emerging, the recent sharp rise of Japanese yen has hit export businesses and could undermine Japan’s competitiveness. Keidanren, the Japanese business federation, is calling the Japanese government to take immediate action to improve Japan’s business environment and allow a dynamic private sector to generate a strong economic growth. To date, the Japanese government has set out a new national growth strategy and a new fiscal management strategy that should be implemented as rapidly as possible. But, according to Mr. Yonekura, free trade and investment are the master keys to unlock the potential of the Japanese private sector. He is convinced that an EU-Japan Economic Integration Agreement would improve EU-Japan trade and investment flows.
Presentation
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Mr. Philippe Avril, General Manager of the BNP Paribas Securities and Chairman of the Banking Committee of the European Business Council in Japan, detailed the impact of the economic crisis and currencies’ volatility on EU-Japan trade and investment. Trade and investment flows between the EU and Japan have been stagnating or decreasing in the past decade. Today, the currency levels and the stronger yen appear to have no real positive impact on exports from Europe to Japan because of non tariff and regulatory measures and because of specific business practices. They have however a negative impact on Japanese exports to the EU and induced a strong production shift from Japan to other countries, even from Japanese SMEs. One can only hope that this situation may impact in a positive way the efforts made by the Japanese Government and the private sector to carefully identify long-term economic strategies and to further invest in Europe.
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