The European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg this week ratified the EU-Japan free trade deal (FTA) with 479 members voting for it while 152 MEPs opposed the deal and 40 abstained.

The deal had been ratified in Japan’s parliament on 29 November and 8 December and the way is now clear for the deal to come into effect with a likely commencement date of 1 February 2019.

Irish MEPs split

While Fine Gael MEPs and Marian Harkin, as well as the DUP's Diane Dodds voted in favour of the FTA, Sinn Fein’s MEPs, Ulster Unionist Jim Nicholson, Luke Ming Flanagan and UKIP MEPs all opposed the deal.

Matt Carty from Sinn Fein, replying to a query from the Irish Farmers Journal, explained that “while Sinn Féin recognises that the agreement does open up interests for Irish agriculture”, the party believed the agreement “poses a number issues for public services, the democratic process, fundamental freedoms and the environment” .

Trade implications

Japan is one of the world’s top importers of agricultural produce and is in the top three importers of beef, cheese and pigmeat, and Ireland is an exporter of all of these to Japan under current trading arrangements.

Agriculture in Japan is heavily protected, with cheddar cheese currently carrying a tariff of almost 30% while beef has a tariff of 38.5%.

When the agreement comes into effect, 90% of tariffs on agricultural produce will be eliminated immediately. The exception is for beef imports, where the 38.5% tariff will be reduced progressively over 15 years to 9%.

Comment

The FTA deal with Japan is simply the best trade deal ever agreed by the EU with a third country from an agriculture perspective. Ireland currently has significant trade exports to Japan in dairy and pigmeat, though beef is small, having just re-entered the market in 2013 following the lifting of the BSE ban.

However, this business is likely to develop in the medium term as tariffs reduce while dairy and pigmeat will benefit immediately when the agreement comes into effect in February 2019.