EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
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On 17 July 2018, the European Union and Japan signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the biggest trade agreement ever negotiated by the EU that will create an open trade zone covering over 600 million people. |
The agreement entered into force on Friday, 1 February 2019.
The EPA contains "a number of provisions that will simplify trade and investment procedures, reduce export and investment related costs and will therefore enable more small firms to do business in both markets. Among the expected benefits are increased transparency, less burdensome technical rules, compliance requirements, customs procedures and rules of origin, enhanced protection of intellectual property rights and geographical indications, better access to procurement tender procedures, as well as a special chapter to enable SMEs to maximise the benefits from the EPA". (Source: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Japan - COM(2018) 192 final)
The EU-Japan EPA is expected to boost trade in goods and services and will create many opportunities for EU SMEs: tariffs on more than 90% of Japan's imports from the EU will be eliminated at entry into force of the EPA. This will affect a wide range of sectors covering agriculture and food products, industrial products (including textiles, clothing...), as well as forestry and fisheries. In addition, non-tariff barriers are expected to be substantially reduced for motor vehicles, medical devices, and the "quasi drugs" sectors. Finally the agreement will facilitate the export of services to the Japanese market and will affect a significant number of sectors from telecommunications to postal services and the financial sector.
EPA HELPDESK TO SUPPORT EU SMEs
To raise awareness of the opportunities this agreement offers and to help EU SMEs take advantage of them, the EU-Japan Centre has launched an EPA Helpdesk to support and guide EU SMEs in their search for relevant information.
The "EPA Helpdesk" answers EPA-related queries, organises webinars and publishes information packs each of them composed of a factsheet and/or practical guide covering a specific topic or sector.
CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Should you be interested in being kept informed, receiving related documents or have a question, feel free to fill in this webform.
Below listed are the services provided by the helpdesk:
INFODESK
The EU-Japan Centre will answer EPA related queries. When the answer will not be available in-house, the EU-Japan Centre will signpost to relevant existing online information.
You have a question? Feel free to contact the helpdesk.
PUBLICATIONS
The EU-Japan Centre will release on a regular basis sectoral information packs composed of a factsheet presenting factual information about the changes brought by the EPA and a practical guide helping SMEs to take advantage of this agreement. The packs will be prepared under the supervision of the European Commission and will match the sectors mentioned in below table.
The information packs will be available online at the same time of the webinar covering the same topic.
You would like to be kept informed about the release of the documents covering your sector? Please fill in this webform.
WEBINAR SERIES
Every month, the EU-Japan Centre will organise a webinar covering a specific EU-Japan EPA-related topic. Each standalone webinar will last an hour. Participants will learn about the changes brought by the EPA the and new opportunities that are being created. After a 45-minute presentation, participants will be able to put their questions to the expert during a Question and Answer session.
You would like to be kept informed about the forthcoming webinars? Please fill in this webform.
WEBINARS CALENDAR and ACCESS TO RELATED DOCUMENTS (2019 - 2020)
| Rules of Origin | Past / click here to get access to the related documents |
| Public Procurement | Past / click here to get access to the related documents |
| Wine, Spirits and Beers | Tuesday, 9 April 2019 at 10:30 CET - Register! |
| Geographical Indications (GIs) | Tuesday, 7 May 2019 at 10:30 CET - Register! |
| Dairy Products | Tuesday, 21 May 2019 at 10:30 CET - Register! |
| Meats | Tuesday, 11 June 2019 at 10:30 CET - Register! |
| Processed agricultural products (PAPs) | Tuesday, 18 June 2019 at 10:30 CET - Register! |
| Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) | Date to be announced |
| Sanitary and phytosanitary measures | Date to be announced |
| SME chapter, technical barriers to trade & trade facilitation aspects | Date to be announced |
| Services & Investments | Date to be announced |
| Medical devices and pharmaceuticals | Date to be announced |
| Textiles and clothing | Date to be announced |
| Footwear and leather products | Date to be announced |
| Fisheries | Date to be announced |
| Telecoms | Date to be announced |
| Forestry products | Date to be announced |
| Motor Vehicles | Date to be announced |
| IPR | Date to be announced |
USEFUL LINKS:
About the agreement:
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/eu-japan-economic-partnership-agreement/
Market access database:
http://madb.europa.eu/madb/indexPubli.htm
Taxation and customs:
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/international-affairs/international-customs-cooperation-mutual-administrative-assistance-agreements/japan_en
EU-Japan Trade:
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/japan/
EU-Japan Cooperation:
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/international-aspects/cooperation-governments/eu-japan_en
Delegation of the European Union to Japan:
https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/japan/56981/eu-japan-economic-partnership-agreement-epa_en
Agri-Food trade statistics:
https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/sites/agriculture/files/trade-analysis/statistics/outside-eu/countries/agrifood-japan_en.pdf