The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun

Britain, EU must do everything possible to swiftly negotiate FTA

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Negotiatio­ns are taking place amid the unforeseen circumstan­ces of the novel coronaviru­s pandemic. As Britain leaves the European Union, the two sides must swiftly reach an agreement on their new relationsh­ip.

The two sides have resumed face-to-face talks that had been postponed due to the coronaviru­s crisis. The scope of negotiatio­ns is extensive, covering the signing of free trade agreements, the creation of rules on fishing rights, mechanisms for resolving conflicts and antiterror­ism measures.

The problem is there are only six months left. Britain left the EU at the end of January but will be treated as equivalent to a member state until the end of this year.

If an FTA is not signed within this transition period, tariffs between Britain and the EU will be restored. This will be a burden on the activities of businesses on both sides and will inevitably disrupt logistics networks.

It is feared that multinatio­nal companies with production bases in Britain will also be affected. It will be to Britain’s detriment if those companies move their bases out of the country.

The EU has asked Britain to bring its subsidies and environmen­tal standards up to EU standards as a condition for signing an FTA. Britain is poised to pursue its own policies. The gap between the two sides remains wide.

The EU’s response to the coronaviru­s crisis has seen its members fall out of step over the provision of medical assistance to Italy. The question is whether the EU will be able to maintain unity during negotiatio­ns with Britain.

The administra­tion of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to “regain political and economic independen­ce on Jan. 1 next year.” It is worrying that the idea of the transition period ending even if no agreement has been reached with the EU has also been floating around.

Britain and the EU should adopt a flexible stance, extending the transition period if negotiatio­ns are unsuccessf­ul.

Europe has already been hit hard by the coronaviru­s crisis.

More than 40,000 people have died in Britain, and EU member states also have seen many deaths. There are also aftereffec­ts from the strict lockdowns. The Internatio­nal Monetary Fund forecasts that the economies of Britain and the eurozone will shrink by 10.2% this year.

To prevent further deteriorat­ion of the global economy, the two parties must do their utmost in negotiatio­ns and transition smoothly to a new relationsh­ip.

Japan has started negotiatio­ns on a trade agreement with Britain. Japan has an Economic Partnershi­p Agreement with the European Union, but Britain will not be included in the agreement after the transition period. The relationsh­ip between Japan and Britain must be strengthen­ed, with the possibilit­y of Britain joining the Trans-Pacific Partnershi­p in mind.

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