On November 5 the International Trade (INTA) Committee adopted its draft recommendation to give the European Parliament’s consent to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between EU and Japan, which the EP plenary supported with a majority  vote on December 12. The EU-Japan EPA will be the largest bilateral trade agreement in terms of market size, covering almost 30% of global GDP.

Should this trade agreement be ratifies, ceramic products will benefit since day one from zero tariffs, boosting EU ceramic industry’s exports to Japan. In 2017, EU exported to Japan nearly €170m of products in nine different ceramic sectors, with the top three exporting ceramic sectors being ceramic wall and floor tiles, tableware&kitchenware and technical ceramics. The EU also enjoys a positive growing trade balance in terms of volumes.

Given the importance of such agreement, Cerame-Unie signed a Joint-Statement, together with 27 European Business organisations, reiterating their strong support for the EPA and advocating for a swift ratification.