WT/REG441/M/1  
 
6 April 2023 
(23-2525) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundred and Sixth Session  Original: English  
 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN  
THE UNITED KINGDOM AND JAPAN  
(GOODS AND SERVICES)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 27 MARCH 2023  
Chair: Ambassador H.E. Ms. Clare KELLY (New Zealand)  
1.1.  The 106th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA" or the 
"Committee") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/31/Rev.1 dated 17 March 2023.  
1.2.  Under Agenda Item I.II of the Session, the CRTA considered the Agreement establishing a 
Compreh ensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the United Kingdom and Japan, goods 
and services (hereinafter "the Agreement"). The Chair stated that the factual presentation had been 
prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility in full consultation  with the Parties, in 
accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements 
(document WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Agreement had entered into force on 1 January 2021. It had been notified to the WTO by 
the Parties on 31 December 2020  under Articles  XXIV:7(a) of the GATT  1994 and Article  V:7(a) of 
the GATS, in documents WT/REG441/N/1 and S/C/N/1036 respectively. The Parties indicated the 
Agreement create d a free trade area in goods within the meaning of Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 
and for trade in services within the meaning of Article V of the GATS.  The text of the Agreement and 
its Annexes was available on the Parties' official websites and in the WTO RTAs database. The Factual 
Presentation (document  WT/REG441/1) and the questions a nd replies on this Agreement (document 
WT/REG441/2) had been distributed.  
1.4.  The representative of the United Kingdom  delivered a joint statement on the Agreement which 
had been successfully implemented since 1 January 2021.  It had built upon the effects of the 
EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which had been provisionally applied since 
1 September 2017. It was the UK 's first free trade agreement which had gone  beyond the 
"continuity " of what had been  agreed by the UK while a member of the EU.  
1.5.  The Parties had enjoy ed a vibrant bilateral relationship. As two advanced G7 economies , their 
economic relationship had been particularly close. According to UK statistics, total  bilateral trade 
was GBP 26.8 bil lion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022  that made Japan the UK 's second 
largest partner in the Indo -Pacific  for the period .  
1.6.  For Japan, the UK had been a global strategic partner with which it shared fundamental values 
such as freedom, democracy, m arket economy, human rights, and the rule of law. The UK had also 
been an extremely important trading and investment partner for Japan. The UK had been the pivotal 
point of the European operations, research and development, and  a gateway to Europe for 
approximately 1,000 Japanese companies operating in the UK. This Agreement had been an 
important foundation for further strengthening and deepening such a good relationship between the 
Parties . 
1.7.  As the UK 's first trade agreement going beyond what had been  agreed by the UK while a 
member of the EU, the Agreement foresaw a number of changes and enhancements in its provisions.  
It had made targeted changes to the goods market access liberalisation of the EU -Japan EPA. In 
summary, in the long term, 94% of Japan ese tariff lines and 99% of Japanese imports from the UK WT/REG441/M/1  
 
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  had been fully liberalised while more than 99% of UK tariff lines and UK imports from Japan had 
been fully liberalised.  It contained more liberal rules of origin provisions, including improved produc t 
specific rules and extended cumulation with the EU for certain goods. This meant established supply 
chains had been  supported and exporters had greater choice on how they sourced inputs into their 
products.  
1.8.  Within the trade in services provisions, the domestic regulation section of the Agreement had 
incorporated some key additions drawn from the WTO Joint Initiative on Services Domestic 
Regulation, in draft form at the time of signature, reflecting the Parties'  shared ambition in this area. 
The Agreement had also improved commitments on the temporary movement of highly skilled 
professionals.  
1.9.  An annual financial service focused dialogue between the UK's Treasury, UK financial 
regulators, and the Financial Services Agency of Japan had been  established to exp lore ways to 
further reduce regulatory friction and facilitate closer cooperation between the Parties on financial 
services regulation.  
1.10.  Digital and data provisions in the Agreement had provided greater policy certainty for UK and 
Japanese businesses. For example, the Agreement contained obligations to avoid unjustified 
restrictions on the free flow of data. These obligations had provided b usinesses the assurances they 
needed to collect, process, and transfer data between the Parties, without facing unnecessary red 
tape. 
1.11.  Through a dedicated chapter on Trade and Women's Economic Empowerment, the Parties had 
sought to cooperate on enhancing th e ability of women, including business owners and workers, to 
fully access and benefit from the opportunities created by the Agreement.  
1.12.  Further details of the amendments and enhancements between the EU -Japan EPA and the 
Agreement were available on the UK g overnment 's website in the Parliamentary report "The UK 's 
trade relationship with Japan " published on 23 October 2020.  
1.13.  On time -bound provisions, as a guiding principle, it had been  decided that if the time -bound 
commitments related to liberalizing market a ccess, the clock would be 'inherited', thus ensuring 
continuity had been  maintained in the Agreement. If the time -bound commitments were related to 
commitments to undertake reviews, the clock had been  generally reset.  
1.14.  Most of the institutional provisions and bodies provided for in the EU -Japan EPA had been  
replicated in the Agreement , although some modifications had been  made to the composition and 
function of these bodies to ensure they would operat e appropriately in a UK -Japan  bilateral context . 
In all though, the Joint Committee had been supported by 9 Specialised Committees and 4 Working 
Groups across the provisions of the Agreement.  
1.15.  As well as the deep collaboration that had been built through the Agreement , there would be 
further opportunitie s for the Parties to cooperate through the Comprehensive and Progressive 
Agreement for Trans -Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) once the UK  had completed its accession process. 
The Parties were ensuring  the high standards and robustness of the Agreement and the C PTPP and 
looked forward to working closely to promote their shared trade values.  
1.16.  In conclusion, the Parties noted that the Agreement had been one of the most robust and 
forward -looking trade agreements signed by them. They had hoped that it had served as a n example 
to other Members in terms of scope and ambition and were keen that it act as a strong base for the 
Parties as they further strengthened their economic ties as friends and allies.  
1.17.  The Chair opened the floor for any questions from the Members.  
1.18.  The representative of Canada  thanked the Parties for their joint presentation of the 
Agreement. He asked for an example of a specific measure or provision in the Agreement  that 
women would derive greater advantages from.  
1.19.  The representative of the European Uni on thanked the Parties for their presentation of the 
Agreement and for replies to the EU's written question regarding SPS.  WT/REG441/M/1  
 
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  1.20.  The representative of the United Kingdom  thanked Canada for the question and indicated  that 
the Parties had been inspired in the Agreement, by what they had been  doing with New Zealand in 
a similar area. He promised  to follow up with Canad a and provid e practical examples of efforts by 
the Parties to use the FTA to promote women's economic e mpowerment  as the Members also had 
been trying to do in the WTO more generally.  
1.21.  The representative of Japan  thanked the  UK for delivering the joint statement on behalf of 
the Parties  and Canada's  question.  
1.22.  The representative of the United States  thanked the Parties for their participation in the 
valuable transparency exercise. Following Canada's question, the US welcome d the sharing of 
experiences by the UK in future CRTA Meetings on  cooperative activities, particularly regarding the 
gender and trade Chap ter of the Agreement.  
1.23.  The Chair noted the consideration of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement 
between the United Kingdom and Japan had allowed the Committee to clarify a number of questions 
and conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordanc e with paragraph 11 of the Transparency 
Mechanism. Any delegations wishing to ask follow -up questions were invited to forward submissions 
in writing to the Secretariat by 3 April 2023 and the Parties were asked to submit replies in writing 
by no later than  17 April 2023. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the Transparency Mechanism all 
written submissions, as well as the minutes of the meeting would be circulated promptly, in all WTO 
official languages, and made available on the WTO website.  
1.24.  The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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