On the economics of an EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement : study on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation

On 9 december 2016, the upper house of Japan's parliament approved the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for the TPP's ratification despite US President Trump's decision to pull out the deal, insisting it would send a signal about Japan's continuing support to back global trade deals. With the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which the EU have been negotiating with the USA, equally in the 'freezer' (Commissioner Malmström), the chances are high that negotiations between the EU and Japan could now be quickly concluded after almost four years and 18 rounds of negotiations. Both the EU and Japan should have a strong incentive to fill the empty spot left by the withdrawal of the USA from global and regional trade talks.