On the same day the UK reached an initial agreement with the EU to exit the bloc, by an odd coincidence the EU announce a free trade deal has been finalised with Japan to create the world's largest open economic area (HERE).
According to this BBC report, more trade agreements are expected to be announced next week involving Mexico and some South American countries, which I assume means Mercosur. It will be ironic if, on our way to becoming a global trading superpower, we start by dropping out of the 50 or so existing EU trade deals plus these new ones with Canada, Japan, Mexico, Argentian, Brazil, Uraguy and Paraguy. Amazing!
A press release from the EU (HERE) describes it as "the biggest bilateral trade agreement ever negotiated by the European Union". The deal includes chapters on good regulatory practices and regulatory cooperation, and transparency and another report (HERE) by Vicky Ford MP says Japan has agreed to align its automotive standards with those of the global UN body (UN-ECE), as the EU does already, to bring greater convergence on vehicle safety standards.
So while we are leaving to create our own regulations the EU is concluding trade deals to harmonise theirs with other countries around the world. Madness isn't it?
A press release from the EU (HERE) describes it as "the biggest bilateral trade agreement ever negotiated by the European Union". The deal includes chapters on good regulatory practices and regulatory cooperation, and transparency and another report (HERE) by Vicky Ford MP says Japan has agreed to align its automotive standards with those of the global UN body (UN-ECE), as the EU does already, to bring greater convergence on vehicle safety standards.
So while we are leaving to create our own regulations the EU is concluding trade deals to harmonise theirs with other countries around the world. Madness isn't it?
