March 25, 2013

JAMA Welcomes Agreement to Begin Talks on a Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement / Free Trade Agreement

Akio Toyoda, Chairman, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc

JAMA welcomes the agreement reached on March 25 by the Japanese Government and European Union (EU) to open negotiations leading to the establishment of Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) / Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Japan and the EU. We would like to take this opportunity to express our great appreciation for the work carried out to date by both the Japanese and European governments to reach this important milestone.

The Japanese automobile industry’s longstanding presence in Europe reflects its significant investment in the region over many years, where acting on the principles of competition and cooperation has allowed it to establish an ever-growing number of mutually beneficial partnerships with its European counterparts.  We are convinced that a Japan-EU EPA  / FTA will provide a crucial opportunity in further promoting trade, investment and industrial cooperation between the two partners, and leading consequently to the growth and expansion of the automobile industry in both Japan and Europe.

JAMA therefore endorses and fully supports all the efforts necessary by the Japanese government to reach an early conclusion of the negotiations.

On our side, the Japanese automobile industry intends to do everything in its capacity to ensure the dialogue advances at the industry level in parallel with the initiative by the Japanese government.