Negotiations on a post-Brexit trade agreement between Britain and Japan will open tomorrow, just seven months before the end of the UK’s transition period with the European Union (EU).
Japan is currently the UK’s 11th largest trading partner, and the fourth largest outside the EU.
Ministers say the new deal could help the UK as it recovers from the economic shock created by the coronavirus crisis.
But the talks will open as the government comes under increasing pressure to help the economy by extending the transition period, a move Boris Johnson has categorically ruled out.
Negotiations between the UK and Japan will be conducted remotely, via videoconference, as the world continues to fight the global pandemic.
Both countries want to secure an agreement by the end of this year – although that timeline is described as ambitious.
Any new arrangement will build on the existing trade deal between the EU and Japan, but go further in areas such as digital trade.
Ministers believe the talks will also take the UK one step closer to its aim of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade agreement that stretches from Australia to Chile.
The government says a bilateral trade deal could bolster GDP by around 0.07 per cent, or £1.5bn, in the long-term.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “This deal will provide more opportunities for businesses and individuals across every region and nation of the UK and help boost our economies following the unprecedented economic challenges posed by coronavirus.” Takaaki Hanaoka, secretary general of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the UK said a dal should be struck “at the earliest opportunity.”
Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, said Japan offered “huge opportunities” for UK businesses.
