Traditional trade relations between the EU and Japan were once characterized by large trade surpluses in favour of Japan. 6. EY Global Tax Alert, USTR grants new exclusions for lists 1, 2 and 3 for products originating in China; The United States and Japan agree on merchandise trade and digital trade on September 27, 2019. Japan has notoriously belatedly joined the “bilateral train.” Until the late 1990s, the government secured most of its bets on multilateral negotiations in order to open foreign markets to the interests of Japanese companies. However, Japan is increasingly suffering from the loss of market share in free trade agreements between other countries. As a result of NAFTA, for example, Japan felt an urgent need for its own contract with Mexico to ensure that its products benefit from the same tariffs on the Mexican market as those in the United States. Between 2009 and 2019, the EU`s trade deficit with Japan increased from 18 billion euros in 2009 to 2 billion euros in 2019. 10. U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, Appendix I: Japan`s Tariffs and Customs Provisions, I-B-5-1; ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/agreements/japan/Annex_I_Tariffs_and_Tariff-Related_Provisions_of_Japan.pdf. Under President Trump`s leadership, the United States and Japan agreed on early outcomes of negotiations on market access for certain agricultural and industrial products, as well as digital trade.
The United States looks forward to continuing negotiations with Japan for a comprehensive agreement that would address the remaining tariff and non-tariff barriers and ensure fairer and more balanced trade. 4. www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/joint-statement-united-states-japan/. The Digital Trade Agreement is a separate agreement that sets rules in the digital space.15 The content of the Digital Trade Agreement is virtually the same as the provisions of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA). Notable provisions include a ban on tariffs on electronically transmitted content (e.g. B software and music) and the recognition of an electronic signature as a legally appropriate authentication tool. This is important as the World Trade Organization (WTO) electronic transfer moratorium is to be renewed at the 12th Ministerial Conference in June 2020 (see the next issue of EY tradewatch for a corresponding article). U.S.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on December 26, 2019, in which he implemented two separate trade agreements with Japan (together the agreements) 1.