On February 1, 2019, the new Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Japan will enter into force after the respective parliamentary ratifications.
This Agreement will eliminate the majority of tariffs (value that amounts to approximately one billion euros per year) that EU companies pay to export to Japan and allows access to a market of 127 million people for key agricultural products.
In particular, the export of processed pork will be tax free, as well as a partial release of fresh pork exports, which will allow additional business opportunities to export pig products.
For beef, tariffs will be reduced from 38.5% to 9% over a period of 15 years and for a significant volume of beef meat products, allowing exports to increase in Japan. For its part, Japanese beef will enjoy free access of tariffs in the EU market.
In this regard, several members of ANAFRIC held a meeting with a senior representative of the Ministry of Agriculture in Japan last December with the visit of a group of inspectors from the country of Japan with the objective of approving the protocol of the pre-listed system, reason why the Japanese authorities delegate in the Spanish the power to authorize companies to export and establish the list of establishments authorized to export beef to Japan.
In addition, the agreement also ensures the protection of geographical indications both in Japan and in the territory of the EU.
Likewise, they have agreed to simplify the approval and authorization procedure and that the import process is completed without an unreasonable bureaucratic burden.
Finally, the agreement will not reduce security standards nor will it require the parties to change their internal policy options in issues such as the use of hormones or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Photo: David Edelstein
