The UK Government has announced that it has secured a new and ‘historic’ free trade agreement with Japan – the first major trade deal the UK has made as an independent trading nation.
While the negotiations for a new trade deal with the EU are ongoing, the UK has forged ahead with other significant economic agreements by meeting with representatives from a host of countries.
The deal with Japan is an important step for the UK, as it is the first agreement of its kind with a large developed nation to be confirmed. It is thought that the new deal will increase trade with Japan by an estimated £15.2 billion each year.
Known as the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, it has been tailored to the needs of the UK economy, according to the Government, and will help to secure additional benefits beyond the EU-Japan trade deal.
This latest agreement is seen as a vital move towards the UK joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – giving businesses a gateway to the Asia-Pacific region.
The new deal will offer UK businesses tariff-free trade on 99 per cent of exports to Japan – a move which could increase UK workers’ wages by £800 million in the long run, according to Downing Street.
The deal includes:
- Improved market access for UK financial services
- Tariff free access for more UK goods
- New protection for more iconic UK goods
- New intellectual property protections for UK creative industries
- Improved mobility for business people
- UK car and rail manufacturing collaboration.
Responding to the deal, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “This is a historic moment for the UK and Japan as our first major post-Brexit trade deal. The agreement we have negotiated – in record time and in challenging circumstances – goes far beyond the existing EU deal, as it secures new wins for British businesses in our great manufacturing, food and drink, and tech industries.
“From our automotive workers in Wales to our shoemakers in the North of England, this deal will help build back better as we create new opportunities for people throughout the whole of the UK and help level up our country.
“Strategically, the deal is an important step towards joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and placing Britain at the centre of a network of modern free trade agreements with like-minded friends and allies.”
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