UK Secures Free Trade Agreement with Japan

The UK has today secured a free agreement with Japan, which is the UK's first major trade deal as an independent trading nation. The deal with Japan will increase trade by an estimated £15.2 billion and will will deliver a 1.5 billion boost to the UK economy.

The UK trade deal goes further than the EU-Japan deal to support the UK fashion industry, eliminating tariffs and liberalising rules of origin for certain important UK exports, and supporting British exporters of leather goods and clothing through reduced tariffs.

The UK-Japan Agreement also makes it easier for UK clothing producers to export to Japan under these reduced tariffs.  In particular, the Government has introduced rules which will allow clothing producers to undergo a single process in the UK (for example, sewing together the imported fabrics into a coat), and then export to Japan under tariff preference, as long as 50% of the inputs are sourced domestically. Under the EU-Japan EPA, clothing producers were required to undertake several processes in the UK, even if they sourced most of their inputs domestically. This change may allow high-value producers of goods including knitwear, suits, gloves and coats  to increase their exports to Japan.

 On designs, the Government has locked in recent revisions to Japan’s design law which allows for multiple designs in one application. This means, for instance, a fashion designer who has recently designed a new product line of trainers can file for design right protection for these new products in one go instead of previously having to send the applications separately, which is more time consuming and costly.

The UK has negotiated customs provisions that minimise costs and administrative burdens, meaning Japanese consumers can get more of the British products they enjoy and UK companies benefit through simpler and more predictable customs procedures. As the free trade agreement with Japan is an agreement in principle, and still needs to be signed, we do not expect to see a written document for a while.

In the meantime, please see some pertinent information and click here.