EU-Japan Business Round Table Annual Meeting

JOINT RECOMMENDATIONS“EU and Japan – Champions of Global Free Trade”
20 April, 2018, Tokyo(Final)

1. Introduction
The 20th annual meeting of the EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) took place at
the Conrad Tokyo on Friday, 20 April 2018. It was the first BRT meeting since the 8
December declaration by Japan and the EU that the EU-Japan Economic Partnership
Agreement (EPA) negotiations had been finalised.
The 2018 BRT meeting offered the Business Round Table’s member companies andorganisations the opportunity to address four topics that they consider to be key drivers
for furthering EU-Japan economic growth and strengthening industrial relationships:
 EU-Japan EPA
 Digital and data economy, cybersecurity, and blockchain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Regulatory cooperation
The BRT Members were honoured to welcome and engage in high-level discussions
with representatives of the EU and Japanese Authorities. The BRT adopted these 2018
Joint Recommendations and key recommendations from the BRT’s Working Parties,and agreed to submit them to the Government of Japan, European Commission, andEuropean Council following the Annual Meeting.

2. BackgroundFor the first time, the Business Round Table annual meeting was held at a time in which
the milestone EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations had beenconcluded. From even before the first round of EPA negotiations that kicked-off in April
2013 in Brussels, to the eighteenth and final round of negotiations in Tokyo in April 2017that contributed to reaching the EPA “agreement in principal” in July 2017, the BRT and
its members have been supportive of the negotiations and of a comprehensive andtimely closing of the EPA. As the negotiations progressed, the BRT has maintained akeen interest and has, through its annual meetings, eagerly expressed its views throughits successive Recommendations to the Authorities of Japan and the EU.
The BRT welcomes the fact that Japan and the EU have continued their active
interaction through numerous events and dialogues into 2018.
1

3. EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
The BRT appreciates the successful conclusion of the negotiations of the EPA. During
the EU-Japan Summit Telephone Talk last December, Prime Minister Abe and EU
Commission President Juncker’s joint statement confirmed the finalisation ofnegotiations on the EU-Japan EPA. 1 This conclusion of the EPA negotiations alsoreaffirms that Japan and the EU are important global partners which share fundamental
values such as democracy, rule of law, and basic human rights.
The BRT considers the EU-Japan EPA to be a cornerstone of EU-Japan relations, will
create considerable opportunities for both large enterprises and SMEs, and is therefore
a topic that the BRT will continue to address.
The size of the economies that the EU-Japan EPA encompasses, as well as theeconomic potential of the partnership, cannot be overstated: combined, Japan and theEU account for 9% of the world’s population, and represent 30% of world gross domestic
product (GDP) and 40% of the value of global trade. The BRT believes that these figures
represent incomparable economic promises for growth and cooperation both in the nearand distant future.
The BRT is pleased that the negotiators for Japan and the EU achieved ambitious,
comprehensive, and mutually-beneficial goals in the EPA – Japan will remove
approximately 99% of its tariffs and the EU will remove 100% of its tariffs. Both sidesconceded a 100% tariff elimination for manufactured goods. Many non-tariff measures
have been addressed and the agreement will make it easier for EU and Japanese firms toprovide services and to participate on an equal footing in bids for procurement tenders.
The BRT highly appreciates the efforts of the EU and Japanese Authorities to continue
their cooperation in all different areas – including the regular open and transparent
discussion of open topics – to bring the EU-Japan EPA to a fruitful and beneficial
implementation for both partners. The BRT will continue to support the Authorities’
efforts, and will monitor the Agreement’s implementation and application.
The BRT holds the firm belief that this deepening of the bilateral economic relationshipwill complement the commitment both partners share to maintaining and strengthening
the existing multilateral trade regime under the WTO and call upon all parties to rejectprotectionist sentiments to ensure a free and level-playing field in markets.
4. Other Key Topics: Digital and Data Economy, Cybersecurity, Blockchain;
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Regulatory Cooperation andInteroperability
Three additional Themed Discussion topics were selected, in addition to the overarching
Themed Discussion topic of the EU-Japan EPA, as a reflection of issues that the BRT
and its Members view as important, relevant, and timely as the economic partnership
between the EU and Japan unfolds and develops in the coming years.
1 http://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000315382.pdf and http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-17-5182_en.htm

2

Digital and Data Economy, Cybersecurity, Blockchain
In consideration of the importance of the role that the digital and data economy plays inefficient, innovative, and sustainable economic growth for both the EU and Japan, theBRT selected ‘digital and data economy, cybersecurity, and blockchain’ as a Themed
Discussion topic for this year’s Annual Meeting. The BRT recognises that AI has anincreasingly important role in our professional and personal lives and welcomes theopportunities the technology will provide for future EU-Japan cooperation.
As part of the first EU-Japan Digital Week in Tokyo, dialogues between the European
Commission and Japanese Government were held in October 2017, bringing together
Japan and the EU’s ambitious digital policy initiatives (Society 5.0 and Digital Single
Market Strategy). 2 The BRT welcomes the on-going discussions and workshops(involving industry participants) between the European Commission and MIC and METI– including the 7th EU-Japan ICT Strategies Workshop held on 18 April in Tokyo. The
BRT is pleased to learn that the EU, MIC and METI agreed in this context to deepen
their exchanges and cooperation on the economic aspects of cybersecurity, including
the topic of certification, and on the data economy.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
In light of the active and strong emphasis with which the Authorities of both the EU andJapan have included SDGs as integral elements of their economic growth policies, theBRT considers it fitting and timely to have SDGs as a Themed Discussion topic at thisyear’s BRT Annual Meeting.
The BRT commends the Authorities of Japan and the EU for their emphasis and efforts
to promote SDGs through the EU-Japan EPA’s chapter on trade and sustainable
development, and more broadly through the Japanese Government’s SDGs Action Plan
2018 and the EU’s efforts to implement its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
both domestically and globally. 3 The BRT welcomes the Authorities’ ongoingcooperation on CSR issues via the EU-Japan CSR Business Dialogue Meeting.4Regulatory Cooperation
Regulatory coherence and regulatory cooperation are regarded as fundamental building
blocks for the high-level trade rules that the BRT views as indispensable to the EU-Japaneconomic partnership. Accordingly, the BRT selected regulatory cooperation as aThemed Discussion to provide industry and Authorities the opportunity to foster publicprivate engagement on the topic. The BRT acknowledges the effectiveness and synergy
established between Japan and the EU in the EU-Japan Industrial Policy Dialogue that,
under the stewardship of METI and DG GROW, has been ongoing annually for twodecades. Regulatory cooperation, regulatory convergence, interoperability, standards
and conformity assessment, and discussions on competitiveness and industrial policy
are regarded by the BRT as critical elements in expanding the economic foundations ofboth the EU and Japan, as well as energising SMEs, entrepreneurs, and industry.
The BRT recognises that ongoing, and transparent regulatory cooperation, as anoverarching topic, is a vital element of the EU-Japan EPA, and sees the EPA as a
keystone in strengthening the economic relationship between Japan and the EU.
2 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blogposts/celebrating-eu-japan-digital-week-tokyo
3 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/sustainable-development/SDGs/implementation/index_en.htm
4 Japan Business Council in Europe (JBCE)

3

5. Requests and RecommendationsFirstly, the BRT calls on the Authorities of the EU and Japan to continue theircommendable efforts in working with their respective legislative bodies to ensure a swift
signature, ratification and entry into force of an effective Economic Partnership
Agreement, and remains ready to support the Authorities’ post-implementation monitoringof the Agreement.
Secondly, the BRT recommends that data privacy, cybersecurity, free flow of data, andblockchain be regarded by the EU and Japan Authorities as vital elements of vibrant andinnovative digital economies and global trade. Furthermore, the BRT calls on both
Authorities to continue cooperating in the formulation of the rules for digital trade.
Thirdly, in recognition of the growing importance, and significance, of Sustainable
Development Goals in the economic development of the EU and Japan, the BRT
recommends that both Authorities establish concrete areas of cooperation and continue
the dialogue between policymakers and industry.
Fourthly, the BRT calls on the Authorities of the EU and Japan to continue working
together on transparent and coherent regulatory cooperation that takes into
consideration the concerns and views of industry, and constitute a further step towards
free trade after the lifting of almost all tariff barriers.
In addition to the above areas, further expansion in investment is expected in the future
now that the EU-Japan EPA has been concluded. The BRT calls upon both Authorities
to deepen the two-way cooperation that is expected to reap the dividends that will arise
from increased investment, and to consider the support that industry can extend withrespect to elements inherent in investment cooperation. In addition, the BRT calls on bothAuthorities to accelerate and further discussions on establishing the governmental
frameworks for cooperation in investment, such as those for cooperation between
governmental financial institutions.
Finally, the BRT stresses the need for cooperation by both Authorities for a global levelplaying field and cooperation against market-distorting measures by third countries.
Additional recommendations, prepared by the BRT’s four Working Parties, arecontained in the Appendix.

4