Posted on 07/06/2017 8:39:49 AM PDT by simpson96
BRUSSELS, July 6 (Reuters) - Japan and the European Union agreed a free trade pact on Thursday to create the world's biggest open economic area and signal resistance to what they see as U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist turn.
Concluded in Brussels on the eve of meetings with Trump at a summit in Hamburg, the "political agreement" between two economies accounting for a third of global GDP is heavy with symbolism.
It leaves some areas of negotiation still to be finished, although officials insist the key snags have been overcome.
"Ahead of the G20 summit tomorrow, I believe Japan and the EU are demonstrating our strong political will to fly the flag for free trade against a shift toward protectionism," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a joint news conference with EU institutional chiefs Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.
The "win-win" deal was, Abe said, "a strong message to the world".
In the works for four years, it has been pushed over the line towards a final treaty signature in the coming months by the election of Trump and his moves to ditch a Pacific trade pact that included Japan and leave talks with the EU in limbo.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
More fake news. So it’s in the work for 4 years but this sends a strong message to Donald Trump. Fake news
BS.
Trump is not a protectionist, he is a FAIR trader. His belief that blanket trade deals are difficult to fairly negotiate and inherently unbalanced over time is accurate and true.
Trade deals at their very best, like purchase and sale agreement templates between companies, need to be regularly amended to reflect the current market (including tariffs, etc.) and the supply and demand of products and raw materials.
Each purchase and sale agreement may be cast in stone but new ones (and the templates used) are amended to reflect the current market conditions.
When I read it started 4 years ago, I thought BS this is a bash on Trump.
I guarantee the agreement between the EU and Japan is not completely “free trade.” If the EU has written into their own “Constitution” how much Italian wine can be sold in France, they have restrictions on certain Japanese imports to Europe. And with the Japanese, there are certainly restrictions the other way. Do you really think BMW and Mercedes Benz sell cars on an even playing field in Yokohama with Toyota and Honda?
I’m all for good trade agreements with other nations. I’m opposed to being looted by them.
AP is like Certainly Not News/CNN, not capable of producing any real news, when it comes to President Trump with 24/7 fake news re our President Trump!
Do Japanese like Cheese , because that’s all the EU has to trade , Canada has to buy tons of the stuff in it’s trade deal with the EU
Japan will take the EU to the cleaners.
Didn’t I hear something this morning about a natural gas deal between the US and Poland that President Trump said could be done in 15 minutes if Poland would provide a resource to help with the paperwork?
Yes, the deal would be done between companies, not countries.
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