Japan-UK economic partnership pact likely to be signed on October 23 - Sources
Reuters | 12 October 2020
Japan-UK economic partnership pact likely to be signed on October 23 - Sources
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and Britain hope to formally sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on Oct. 23, two sources told Reuters on Monday.
Tokyo has said it is aiming for the deal to come into force on Jan. 1, after reaching a broad trade agreement with Britain on Sept. 11.
The trade deal between the two nations was based largely on the EU-Japan agreement, which covers Britain until the end of December, when a Brexit transition period ends.
The deal removes Britain’s tariffs on Japanese cars in stages to zero in 2026, which is the same as in the Japan-EU trade agreement. The issue of automobiles was one of Japan’s main interests.
Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Kaori Kaneko and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Catherine Evans
