European Council President Donald Tusk (R), Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (C) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (L) give a press conference after an EU-Japan summit at the European Council on July 6, 2017, in Brussels. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and top EU officials agreed on July 6 to the broad outline of a landmark trade deal, presented as a direct challenge to protectionism championed by US President Donald Trump. - AFP
BRUSSELS: Japan and the European Union have agreed to a free trade pact, creating the world’s biggest open economic area and signalling resistance to what they see as US President Donald Trump’s protectionist turn.
Signed 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 finish, though officials insist the key snags have been overcome.
Win a prize this Mother's Day by subscribing to our annual plan now! T&C applies.
