October 6, 2015

JAMA Comment on Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Pact Agreement
Fumihiko Ike, Chairman, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc. warmly welcomes the agreement reached earlier this month on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade accord, after long and rigorous negotiations which Japan joined in 2013.  We take this opportunity to express our great appreciation for the efforts made by the Japanese government officials concerned to bring these talks to a successful end.

With this trade pact, a framework has been put in place for economic partnerships with the United States, Canada and other Pacific-rim countries which, while of critical importance to Japan’s automobile industry as well, have not previously been parties to Japan’s trade agreements.  JAMA applauds the TPP’s establishment of common rules promoting trade facilitation across a broad spectrum, including investment and intellectual property, to enhance the trans-Pacific business environment.

In particular, continuous efforts by Japanese government representatives contributed to agreement in the TPP accord on the elimination of tariffs, upon the implementation of the pact, on most auto parts imported into the United States and on tariff elimination in the short term for vehicle imports into Canada.  Japanese automakers’ global supply chain operations will, furthermore, remain compatible with the accord’s rules of origin requirements applying to the TPP signatory countries.

In line with the TPP agreement, the Japanese automobile industry, for its part, intends to provide a wider range of high-quality products and services geared to the needs of international consumers, and thereby contribute to the forging of even closer intraregional economic ties.

JAMA also hopes that the TPP trade pact will prove instrumental in accelerating the conclusion of ongoing talks on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, the Asia-based Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and other trade agreements currently being negotiated by Japan.