Dominic Raab and Japan’s foreign minister agree to seek ‘ambitious, high standard’ trade deal with Britain that is as good as that country’s agreement with EU
- Raab is on a four-nation Asian tour in his first major trip since the UK left the EU
- Japanese minister said preparations were being made for productive trade talks
- Raab is now heading to Singapore & Malaysia to negotiate future arrangements
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and his Japanese counterpart agreed Saturday to seek an ‘ambitious, high standard’ trade accord matching Japan’s agreement with the European Union.
Raab is on a four-nation Asian tour in his first major overseas trip since Britain left the EU on January 31 after 47 years of membership.
He arrived in Tokyo Saturday morning from Australia on a two-day visit and held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Tokyo.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (left) is pictured talking with Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (right) in Tokyo today
In a joint statement, the two ministers said they were committed to free trade and that ‘we will work quickly to make the new partnership as ambitious, high standard and mutually beneficial as the Japan-EU EPA. The ministers are pictured together during a press conference in Tokyo today
‘In line with our commitment to free trade, we will work quickly to make the new partnership as ambitious, high standard and mutually beneficial as the Japan-EU EPA,’ the two ministers said in a joint statement.
Their planned bilateral trade accord would ‘send a very powerful signal of our shared commitment to free, rules-based trade,’ Raab told reporters.
Motegi said preparations were under way for formal negotiations on a Japan-Britain free trade partnership.
‘We agreed that we will start and conclude the negotiations as early as possible,’ he added.
Raab shakes Motegi’s hands at the conclusion of today’s press conference in Tokyo. A previous Japanese trade deal with the EU, which covered over 630 million people and economies that add up to around a third of global output
In 2018, Japan and the EU struck a trade deal covering more than 630 million people and economies that add up to around a third of global output.
They began negotiations in 2013, two years after agreeing to start talks.
Following Brexit, Britain is hoping to negotiate a new trade deal not just with Brussels but also the United States, Japan and other countries.
Raab is also heading to Singapore and Malaysia.