The EU-Japan Trade Agreement: What are the Implications?

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and Japan entered into force on 1 February 2019. It establishes a free trade area with a combined market of around 640 million consumers, accounting for roughly a third of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). It is the EU's largest bilateral agreement to date and also a new type of trade agreement wider in scope than the previous ones.

What are the key differences? What are the expectations and what does it mean for cooperation on rules and international standard settings?

Keynote Speaker:

Patrik Tingvall, Senior Research Associate, EIJS and Chief Economist of the National Board of Trade Sweden. From July 1 he will be leading a new research project on EUs Free Trade Agreement with East Asia at EIJS.

Panel:

Annika Widell, Senior adviser, Department for Trade Agreements and Technical Rules, National Board of Trade Sweden

Mats Engström, Analyst, Tillväxtanalys (Growth Analysis) and former innovation counsellor at the Swedish Embassy in Tokyo

Norihiro Kasuga, Professor, Konan University and Visiting Professor, EIJS

Moderator: Ari Kokko, Professor, Copenhagen Business School

The Japan seminar series is jointly organized by the European Institute of Japanese Studies at Stockholm School of Economics, the Asia Programme at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, the Department of Asian, Middle Eastern and Turkish Studies at Stockholm University and the Swedish Defence University. It features monthly seminars on Japanese economy, politics and society.

Welcome!