By Isaac Cohen*
As a preamble to the Group of 20 Summit, held in Hamburg, Germany on July 7-8, the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and the President of the European Council Donald Tusk, in Brussels on July 6, announced they had approved the broad principles of a trade agreement among both economies. Emphasizing the timeliness of the announcement, Prime Minister Abe said, “Japan and the European Union will hoist the flag of free trade high amidst protectionist trends.”
The agreement is the result of four years of negotiations and it will lower barriers to almost all exports from both economies. According to President Tusk, the agreement covers almost 90 percent of all European exports to Japan, including agricultural products. In exchange Japanese exports, such as automobiles and electronics, will enjoy freer access to the European market.
This means exporters from other countries will not enjoy the same advantages, which will particularly hurt US exporters. Even more so, because Japan, the United States with ten other governments had signed a free trade agreement, known as the Trans Pacific Partnership, which reciprocally granted access to their markets to exports from all participants. However, one of the first decisions adopted by President Donald Trump, after his inauguration, withdrew the United States from the Trans Pacific agreement.
*International analyst and consultant. Commentator on economic and financial issues for CNN en Español TV and radio, UNIVISION, TELEMUNDO and other media. Former Director, UNECLAC Washington.
