Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

The deal is one of the biggest ever. RPBaiao/Shutterstock

Cars for beef: Japan and the EU have signed a 'huge' trade deal but not everyone's happy

Both parties think it will give a boost to their economies.

IRELAND’S AGRICULTURE MINISTER has said that a trade deal between the EU and Japan offers a “huge opportunity” for Irish beef farmers.

Michael Creed says that 43,500 tonnes of Irish beef going to Japan will see tariffs dropping from 38.5% to 27.5% in the first year and then to 9% over a fifteen years.

The deal will see Tokyo scrapping barriers to EU farming products and in return the EU will further open its market to the world-leading Japanese auto industry.

The breakthrough capped four years of talks and came on the eve of a G20 meeting in Germany tomorrow.

Despite top EU politicians welcoming the deal, there is opposition to so-called investment courts which opponents argue are undemocratic and will be a boon for multinationals.

The courts are designed to resolve trade disputes.

The EU and Japanese economies combined account for more than a quarter of global output, making the deal one of the biggest trade pacts ever attempted.

With the deal, the EU is seeking access to one of the world’s richest markets while Japan hopes to jump-start an economy that has struggled to find solid growth for more than decade.

“The concessions achieved in relation to beef are particularly significant, and represent a huge opportunity which I am determined will be utilised to the maximum possible extent by the Irish beef sector,” Creed said this morning.

But the outcome is also extremely positive in relation to pigmeat, where Japan will significantly lower the tariffs applied through its import scheme over the period of the agreement, and for cheese and dairy products.

The deal is also being seen as a rebuke to US President Donald Trump who has been a proponent of trade protectionism and an opponent of globalisation.

While agreements have been signed, some work remains to be done before it is competed.

It is being described as a “political agreement” and some of the accord’s toughest aspects have been left aside and could still prove difficult.

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy argues that full details of the proposed EU investment courts must be debated in the Dáil.

“The commission seems intent on establishing this multilateral court without any democratic mandate,” he said.

There has yet to be a Dáil debate on this provision despite the dangerous and serious implications such a court will have for Irish democratic and judicial structures.

Greenpeace is also opposed to the deal, describing it as “corporate protectionism”.

Last year, the EU’s giant CETA trade deal with Canada nearly sank on such concerns when the small Belgian region of Wallonia threatened to veto it, before eventually relenting.

With reporting by © – AFP 2017

Read: Airline apologises after wheelchair user forced to crawl up steps to board plane >

Read: Japanese monk gives ‘funerals’ for old dolls’ souls >

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
51 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute aoife kally
    Favourite aoife kally
    Report
    Jul 21st 2015, 3:28 PM

    that august hirt guy looks like somthing out of a horror movie

    108
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Kelly
    Favourite Barry Kelly
    Report
    Jul 21st 2015, 8:42 PM

    He’s very creepy looking. Wikipedia says that he was shot in the jaw in WWI. Pity it wasn’t two inches higher.

    21
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute The Girl
    Favourite The Girl
    Report
    Jul 21st 2015, 3:47 PM

    History is repeating itself… We sit back and watch until thousands die then it becomes part of our history.. ISIS 70 years from now…Jeez.!

    67
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John Curry
    Favourite John Curry
    Report
    Jul 21st 2015, 2:22 PM

    RIP

    34
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Larry Heffernan
    Favourite Larry Heffernan
    Report
    Jul 21st 2015, 3:35 PM

    WW11 The war that keeps om giving.

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tony Le Blanc
    Favourite Tony Le Blanc
    Report
    Jul 21st 2015, 6:49 PM

    Jee Larry. World War Eleven – the Hindu v’s Buddhist meditators go at it? A movie you’re making perhaps?

    10
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds