EU, Japan conclude talks on world’s largest free-trade agreement

The EU and Japan have concluded negotiations on a free-trade deal to create the world’s largest open economic area, signaling their rejection of the more protectionist stance of US President Donald Trump, Reuters said. The two parties said on Friday that negotiators had now finished a legal text that would open up trade for economies that make up around 30 percent of global output. The agreement, combining the 28 EU states and the world’s third-largest economy, will remove EU tariffs of 10 percent on Japanese cars and the 3-percent rate typically applied to car parts. Japan had been one of the signatories of the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive 12-nation trade alliance that Trump ditched on his first day in office.