EU: Public consultation about the EU-Japan trade agreement

 

The EU Commission has launched a public evaluation of the EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement.

The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which entered into force on 1 February 2019, represents the most economically significant bilateral trade agreement ever concluded by the EU in terms of market size, encompassing nearly 30% of global GDP. The agreement eliminates tariffs on 99% of EU tariff lines and 97% of Japanese ones. In addition to tariff liberalisation, it reduces non-tariff barriers and opens up new opportunities in services, investment, e-commerce, and public procurement, while also strengthening intellectual property protections. The EPA explicitly links trade with sustainable development and includes a dedicated commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The fifth anniversary of the EPA’s implementation was marked on 1 February 2024. This ex-post evaluation is intended to deliver an evidence-based assessment of the EPA’s economic, social, environmental, and human rights impacts after more than five years of application. The evaluation draws on a combination of economic modelling, literature reviews, statistical data analysis, and broad, ongoing stakeholder engagement.

The analysis is structured around four sustainability pillars: economic, social, environmental, and human rights. It also includes targeted case studies that offer deeper insight into specific areas such as trade in key agricultural products, the protection of geographical indications, and trade in services.

This evaluation aims to produce an evidence-based report assessing the impact of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) after five years of implementation. The findings will inform lessons learned, support ongoing implementation, and help enhance the EPA’s effectiveness.

The EU-Japan EPA establishes a comprehensive framework for a sustainable and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship. Signed at the EU-Japan Summit in Tokyo on 17 July 2018 and in force since 1 February 2019, the EPA seeks to liberalise and facilitate trade and investment and to deepen economic ties between the EU and Japan.

Key provisions of the EPA include significant tariff liberalisation (covering 99% of EU and 97% of Japanese goods), the reduction of non-tariff barriers, and detailed rules on areas such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, services, investment liberalisation, e-commerce, public procurement, subsidies, intellectual property protection, sustainable development, agricultural cooperation, good regulatory practices, regulatory cooperation, and dispute resolution.

As of 1 February 2024, the EPA has been in force for five years. Between 2019 and 2023, bilateral trade in goods increased from EUR 125.6 billion to EUR 134 billion (+7%), while trade in services rose from EUR 47.4 billion to EUR 54.2 billion (+14%). Overall, total trade in goods and services grew by 9%, reaching EUR 188.6 billion in 2023, with the EU recording an EUR 11 billion surplus.

In line with the European Commission’s Trade for All strategy, this evaluation supports the commitment to retrospectively assess trade agreements by providing an in-depth analysis of their effectiveness across sectors, EU Member States, and partner countries.

The stakeholder consultation aims to ensure broad input on:

• The effectiveness of the EPA in fostering trade, investment, and sustainable development (including economic, social, environmental, human rights, climate, and biodiversity dimensions);
• The efficiency of the agreement in achieving its objectives relative to the resources used, including possible unnecessary costs or legal complexities;
• The EPA’s relevance in addressing current trade and economic challenges faced by the EU, its Member States, and Japan;
• The coherence of the EPA with EU trade and broader external policy goals.

The consultation process will gather concrete examples, data, and stakeholder experiences to complement the quantitative analysis and highlight opportunities and challenges arising from the EPA. It will also guide where further research and evidence are needed. A detailed consultation strategy will be developed early in the evaluation process.