Trade deal with Japan first for post-brexit Britain

TOKYO — Japan and Britain signed a free trade agreement on Friday, the first such major post-brexit deal, reducing tariffs on goods such as Yorkshire lamb sold in Japan and auto parts for Japan’s Nissan plant.

“How fitting it is to be in the Land of the Rising Sun to welcome in the dawn of a new era of free trade,” British International Trade Secretary Liz Truss told reporters at a signing ceremony in Tokyo.

Appearing with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Truss called the agreement a “landmark” as the first major trade deal for Britain as it becomes again an independent trading nation.

The deal, expected to boost British trade with Japan by $19.5 billion annually, will make it easier for British companies to operate in Japan.

Financial services are Britain’s biggest export to Japan, now at 28 percent. English sparkling wine, madein-britain coats and shoes, Stilton cheese, pork, lamb and biscuits will become cheaper in Japan.

Motegi said the bilateral deal ensures continuity with the earlier European agreement and adds new areas for cooperation such as e-commerce and financial services.

The British government has said the ability to strike free trade agreements around the world is one of the main benefits of Brexit. But the new deal largely replicates the trade agreement Britain had with Japan as part of the EU.

Britain’s opposition Labour Party has estimated it will increase U.K. GDP by 0.07 percent, far less than the predicted fall in trade with the 27-nation bloc.

Britain is seeking to secure deals with other countries, notably the United States.

Parliamentary approval is needed in both nations before the agreement takes effect from the start of next year.