EU-Japan Business Round Table
Press Release
Tokyo, Monday 12 September 2011

The EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT), a forum of around 50 European andJapanese business leaders, co-chaired by Messrs. Jean-Yves Le Gall (Chairman &CEO of Arianespace) and Hiromasa Yonekura (Chairman of Sumitomo Chemical Co.,
Ltd.), issued today a joint statement towards an EU-Japan FTA/EPA, including
recommendations to the Authorities and business organisations of both sides on the ongoing scoping process.
The Statement is attached.

Inquiries and contacts
EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation (EU-Japan Business Round Table Secretariat)
In Japan : tel: +81 3 3221 6161
Ms Yoko KOMIYAMA
Ms Aiko HIGUCHIEmail: yoko.komiyama@eu-japan.gr.jp
Email: aiko.higuchi@eu-japan.gr.jp

In Belgium: tel: +32 2 282 0040
Ms Diane VAN BOCKSTAL
Ms Ayako KAWAMURA

Email: diane.vanbockstal@eu-japan.eu
Email: ayako.kawamura@eu-japan.eu

Background
The EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) was created in 1999 to foster
communications between Japanese and European industries. Its members are senior
executives from around 50 leading European and Japanese companies. Its main
objective is to submit recommendations to Japanese and European authorities in orderto develop trade and investment between the EU and Japan, and to encourage
industrial cooperation on issues of common interest, such as innovation, climate change,
or industrial standards.
www.eu-japan-brt.eu

EU-Japan Business Round Table
JOINT STATEMENT TOWARDS AN EU-JAPAN FTA/EPAThe EU and Japan are major economies with common values such as businessbased on fair and open competition and the rule of law. They have been seeking
ways to build closer economic ties and enhance bilateral trade and investment tolevels better fit for two highly advanced economies. As both strive to overcome
global financial instability, create new demand and employment, promote innovation,
and achieve stronger and sustainable growth, and as Japan also strives to recoverfrom the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck in March 2011, it is critical thatthey succeed in further strengthening their bilateral relationship.
At the 20th EU-Japan Summit held in Brussels on 28 May 2011, Summit leadersagreed to start the process for the negotiation of a deep and comprehensive Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) / Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), addressing allissues of shared interest to both sides including tariffs, non-tariff measures, services,investment, intellectual property rights, competition and public procurement. Summit
leaders decided, to this end, that the two sides would start discussions with a view todefining the scope and level of ambition of this negotiation through a "scoping". In
parallel with this, the European Commission would seek a mandate to negotiate on
the basis of a successful scoping.
The EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) has long called upon both sides'
Authorities to start negotiations on a balanced and mutually beneficial bilateralagreement, as soon as the right conditions are met, in order to promote an ambitious
development of bilateral trade and investment. The BRT welcomes the 28 May
agreement as a significant step in that direction. The BRT wishes for a balanced andmutually beneficial FTA/EPA to enable the development of truly fair and open
markets and release the potential for a huge increase of bilateral business.
The scoping work now underway between the Authorities of both sides is crucial. Itwill clarify precise market opening intentions and make it possible to ascertain thatthe right conditions for the launch of a negotiation are met. In the scoping process,the Authorities should work to leave no room for misunderstanding, lest the outcomeof the scoping could fail to live up to the expectations of business.
With so much at stake, the industries of both sides have an important role to play insupporting the Authorities in this work. In particular, non-tariff barriers (NTBs) will be
one of the highest priority issues of the scoping process. The industries of both sides
have already shown their intention to spare no effort supporting the Authorities inidentifying them precisely. Wherever possible they should also identify issues
bilaterally, on a sectoral basis, and propose solutions.
Having considered the above, the BRT hereby issues the following
Recommendations to the Authorities and the business organisations of the EU andJapan.

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RECOMMENDATIONS ON SCOPINGScope
The BRT supports the decision taken at the Summit that an EU-Japan FTA/EPA
should address all issues of shared interest to both sides including tariffs, non-tariffmeasures, services, investment, intellectual property rights, competition and publicprocurement. All sectors of business interest should be covered. In addition, the BRT
expects an EU-Japan FTA/EPA to enhance wide-ranging cooperation between
European and Japanese business, for example in the development of newtechnologies and in relation to third countries.
The BRT recommends identifying clear and precise negotiable areas with enoughlegal, regulatory and other details to allow for a full understanding of what anegotiation may lead to in terms of potential business improvement.
Level of ambition
In keeping with the high level of ambition shown at the Summit, the BRT
recommends that the EU and Japan consider removing all the commerciallysignificant obstacles to trade and investment in all areas of shared interest.
Schedule
The BRT believes that the scoping process should produce a credible, clear andcomprehensive roadmap for the elimination, in a limited and reasonable time frame,of barriers to business in all areas of shared interest.
At the same time, the BRT recommends that the scoping itself should besuccessfully completed as early as possible.
Official commitment
The BRT requests that the negotiators of the EU and Japan be fully supported bytheir respective administrations and benefit from the full political backing required toachieve the deep and comprehensive FTA/EPA that the Summit leaders agreed toseek.
Industry involvement
Any negotiations should be conducted in full transparency and close cooperation
with the business community. The BRT welcomes the willingness of businessorganisations of both sides to support the Authorities in the scoping process andhelp develop the conditions to promote an ambitious development of bilateral tradeand investment. Support in identifying precisely the laws, regulations and practices
that are often regarded as NTBs by one side is invaluable. Wherever possible
without slowing down the process the business organisations of both sides should
also discuss NTBs bilaterally on the basis of an adequate understanding of eachother's interests and concerns and work out on a sectoral basis concrete andrealistic solutions to be jointly proposed to the Authorities, by taking full account of
the EU-Japan economic relationship as well as the global economy. In addition, theBRT encourages the EU and Japanese Authorities and industry to work together tocreate common industrial and service standards that would allow a closer integrationof the two markets.
The BRT calls on the Authorities of both sides to accept and endorse their industries'
input as reflecting the true business and economic interests of the EU and Japan.
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Towards a more dynamic and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship
The BRT emphasizes the historic opportunity that the conclusion of a deep andcomprehensive agreement between the EU and Japan would represent for fostering
new business opportunities for both the EU and Japan.
In order for mutually beneficial negotiations to be launched, the EU and Japan must
be ready to identify solutions that would effectively open up their markets to allow
more competition in all sectors of their economies and facilitate more cooperation
between European and Japanese businesses. The BRT urges the EU and Japanese
Authorities and business not to lose sight of the huge potential benefits that could bederived from a balanced and comprehensive EU-Japan FTA/EPA. The scoping
should lead to an outcome that would ensure that any formal negotiation of anFTA/EPA would produce an agreement that is fair and that does not confer adisproportionate benefit on either side.
Accordingly the BRT expects the EU and Japanese Authorities to show theirwillingness to make all-out efforts to achieve a mutually beneficial andcomprehensive agreement. The BRT also calls for business organisations of the EUand Japan to cooperate bilaterally and with the Authorities to tackle obstacles
together.

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