Negotiating in the Shadow of TTIP and TPP: The EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement

Abstract

EU-Japan free trade agreement negotiations have made promising progress in the shadow of highly scrutinized Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Transpacific Partnership (TPP) talks. EU trade policy, it appears, has only been partially and selectively politicized "in favor" of TTIP, while EU-Japan free trade agreement negotiations remind observers of the trade policy modus operandi of the pre-Lisbon Treaty era. This article reviews the mercantilist 'competitive liberalization' dynamics that underlie the negotiation strategies of EU and Japanese policymakers and provides an outlook as to whether EU-Japan economic relations could follow TTIP in making the important step from "negative" to "positive" integration by means of intensified regulatory cooperation.

Keywords: European Union, Japan, Free Trade Agreement, FTA, TTIP, TPP, bilateral, WTO

JEL Classification: F10, F13, F15