Evolvement of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement as Seen by the European Business Council

Online Lunch Seminar on Japanese Economy and Society that took place for the Maison franco-japonaise on the 22sd of February 2022.

Speaker: Bjorn KONGSTAD (European Business Council)
Organization: FRIJ-MFJ
Co-organization: CCI France Japon
Support: French Embassy in Japan

The European Business Council in Japan is a trade policy advocacy organisation representing European industry in Japan. It has been doing this for soon 50 years. Bjorn Kongstad will give a presentation on its activities with a focus on the EPA, including the preparation, and also on the EBC White Paper, an annual report on the Japanese regulatory environment.

The EBC first presented the idea of a trade agreement between the EU and Japan in the mid 2000’s. While tariffs were high on agricultural products in Japan, industrial goods, which made up for most EU exports, were low, or even non-existing. Hence the EBC suggested an agreement where the focus would also be on NTBs/NTMs as a traditional FTA would not give the EU a substantial benefit.

The second part of the presentation will be spent on the EBC White Paper, and some of its content. The White Paper is one of the tools that the EBC uses to advocate for improvements to the Japanese regulatory environment.