International Affairs
On 24 May from 2pm to 4pm, the Chamber of Commerce hosted a seminar focused on the implementation of the EU-Japan Trade Agreement and its opportunities for Luxembourg economic operators. This event was held in close collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and with the support of the EU Commission.
On 1 February 2019, the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the biggest trade zone ever negotiated, entered into force. The trade agreement paves the way for an open trading zone of more than 600 million people, along with a commitment to uphold the highest environmental and social standards. This creates clear benefits and opportunities for Luxembourg companies and strengthens bilateral economic ties.
Jeannot Erpelding, Director of International Affairs of the Chamber of Commerce, hosted the event. In his opening remarks, he thanked the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs for their collaboration as well as the European Commission for its support. He then introduced the new President of the Chamber of Commerce, Luc Frieden, who delivered the welcome speech and noted in particular that Luxembourg is a pro-European nation and will always be open to trade.
H.E. Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, then spoke, referencing historical links between Japan and Europe and specified that together the EU and Japan account for about a quarter of the world's GDP, while EU firms already export over EUR 58 billion in goods and EUR 28 billion in services to Japan every year. He stated that, in the past, European firms faced trade barriers when exporting to Japan, which made it hard for them to compete and said that the trade agreement with Japan removes these barriers and sends a powerful message that two of the world's biggest economies reject protectionism.
H.E. Shigeji Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan, then spoke, thanking Luc Frieden and the Chamber of Commerce for hosting the conference, and explained the overall benefit and positive impacts of the EPA for Japanese companies exporting to Europe.
Jean-Luc Demarty, Director-General for Trade in the EU Commission, then delivered the keynote speech in which he defined the economic relations between Japan and Luxembourg as excellent and specified that since 2017, Japan is Luxembourg’s largest trading partner in Asia in terms of goods exchange. He then clarified that, since 2017, trade in goods has continued to increase, reaching nearly EUR 500 million in 2018 due in particular to the skyrocketing growth of imports from Japan, which totaled EUR 414 million, while Luxembourg’s exports also slightly increased, amounting to EUR 84 million.
Hiroo Inoue, Director General of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in Brussels, then presented JETRO, and statistics regarding the current trade and investment relationship between the EU and Japan. He then outlined the subsequent economic impact and prospects regarding the EU-Japan EPA.
Yuriko Matsuno, the Executive Director of Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Japan, then introduced Luxembourg companies that are active in Japan, as well as Japanese firms established in Luxembourg. Then she moderated a panel discussion, consisting of the following four panelists:
- Lisa Vesque, Oenologist, Domaine viticole Cep d’Or
Founded in 1995, Domaine viticole Cep d’Or has 20 ha of vineyards, produces wine and crémant, and exports to Japan since 2011; - Sébastien Deblire, Key account manager, Codipro
Codipro is a specialist in manufacturing swivel lifting rings, and has been active in the Japanese market for 4 years; - Alessandro Perna, Information services, EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
Funded by the European Commission, its EU-Japan EPA Helpdesk provides services such as publications (factsheets & guidelines), webinars (covering the EPA), and an Infodesk (answering EPA related queries); - Michael Nisen, Manager, ExporuN
ExporuN is a foreign trade specialist working with brands in different sectors (beer, food, wine), and has been working with Japan since 2005. It provides trusted market intelligence, practical advice and business tools to help companies expand in global markets.
During the panel discussion, panelists individually shared their experiences in trading between EU and Japan, compared the advantages and disadvantages of doing business with or without the EPA, and explained the mandatory procedure for companies to benefit from the EPA, and the fact that one of the sectors that typically profits from the EPA is the food sector.
The seminar was concluded by a Q&A section and followed by a networking reception.
