JAPAN, UK BROADLY AGREE ON POST-BREXIT TRADE DEAL

Japan and Britain broadly agreed Friday on a free trade deal, setting the stage for companies to remain under existing bilateral tariff arrangements after the transition period for the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (EU) concludes at year-end, Kyodo news agency reported in Tokyo late on August 7, 2020.

Britain is a major trade partner for Japan, with trade between them worth about $38 billion in 2019. Japan was Britain's 11th largest export market, and Britain was the 12th biggest market for Japan. Britain is home to the offices of nearly 1,000 Japanese companies, which have created 180,000 jobs, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. 

"In most areas, we have reached substantial agreement," Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters online after two days of late-stage negotiations in London, adding the two countries will work on the remaining details for a fuller agreement by the end of this month.

Motegi and British International Trade Secretary Liz Truss had what she called "positive negotiations" on the envisioned free trade deal, which largely replicates the terms of a Japan-EU agreement that took effect in February 2019. "The Japan-Britain economic partnership agreement will contribute to further expansion of bilateral trade and investment," Motegi said. "We agreed to accelerate remaining work to put the deal into effect on Jan. 1 next year from the perspective to secure smooth continuity in business of both countries."