Japan and the European Union have formally agreed an outline free trade deal which will ease the movement of goods between two of the world's largest economies.
The pact, though still requiring some further negotiation, is scheduled to come into effect in early-2019 and will guarantee tariff-free trade between businesses within the two regions.
It is expected that the deal will liberalize 99 percent of trade between Japan and the EU, benefiting Japan's autos industry and the EU's farming sector in particular, according to BBC reports.
Plans for a deal had been underway for four years but were stalled by varied demands from either side. However, talks gained a new urgency amid growing protectionist policies to emerge from the U.S. and Thursday's agreement will send a clear message to other global leaders ahead of this weekend's G20summit.
President Abe added that the pact provided a "win-win" for both parties and said he hoped it would encourage the early enactment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and the U.S.
Reference: CNBC
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