The European Parliament ratified the EU Japan Economic Partnership. Outcome: 474 votes in favour, 152 votes against, 40 abstensions.
Japan
Last-minute: Plenary to vote on Japan data legislation adequacy this week
It looks as if MEPs are confident they can get the required majority to pass the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, the landmark trade deal concluded late last year between the EU and Japan, after all. The European Parliament today confirmed that a vote scheduled for Wednesday would go ahead — …
Social Democrat split casts shadow over EU-Japan EPA ratification
The European Parliament’s leaders sat down today to confirm that the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement and EU-Japan Economic Partnership were going to be put to MEPs for ratification next Wednesday in Strasbourg as planned. But persistent splits in the Socialists and Democrats group still cast a shadow over ratification.
Week ahead in EU trade: Asian FTAs, GSP, Section 232
G20 fallout December 2018 will be remembered as a decisive moment in European trade policy. Leaders came back to Europe from the G20 in Argentina over the week-end without securing a commitment by the big leaders to fight protectionism – although WTO reform is on the agenda of the world’s …
‘Horizontal safeguard regulation’ helps clear hurdle of Asian FTA ratification
It was meant to be largely a technical exercise. It turned out to be more political than expected. The European Union is about to adopt a new regulation on safeguards on imports that will apply equally to all its new bilateral free trade agreements. A final compromise among the three …
Listen to an introduction to the EU Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
Tune into a presentation by our editor Iana Dreyer of the EU Japan Economic Partnership Agreement made with Integration Point, a global trade management software firm. To access the webcast, you need to register, but it’s all free and one can opt out of marketing e-mails. Link here.
MEPs set EU-Japan EPA on track for December ratification
Members of the European Parliament’s international trade committee gave the green light today to the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement. The landmark deal is expected to cover a third of global output and is among the most commercially ambitious trade accords in the world. It substantially liberalises trade in goods and …
Flash: Japan, Korea, Singapore, EU US updates
The long Asia-focused trade week in Brussels is finishing late on a Friday with a salvo of new announcements. Here a quick roundup. Juncker-Abe meeting During a bilateral meeting with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo is readying itself to ratify the recently signed EU …
MEPs wrangle over Japan EPA labour and environmental provisions
Insiders don’t believe the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement signed this summer faces a serious risk of being voted down in the European Parliament at the end of the year. But as the assembly enters its last months of functioning, a vocal group of left-of-centre MEPs is making a last big …
A Week in Brussels: INTA special, China, Australia
Below some highlights of this week’s trade committee meeting in Brussels, and a little update on the EU-Australia FTA talks. In case you missed them, check out our other articles this week on no-deal Brexit here and here, the EU’s food export bonanza, trilateral EU-Japan-US discussions on China and WTO, CETA, and the …
