ACEA calls for Japan Trade assessment
The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) is calling for detailed analysis of the EU's Japan trade 'scoping exercise'.
The organisation welcomed the fact that the European Union had not sanctioned a free trade agreement with Japan, but instead had called for a 'scoping exercise' at a recent EU-Japan Summit meeting in Brussels.
ACEA is concerned that any trade agreement needs to involve 'trade liberalisation', particularly in relation to the automotive industry, with a need to speed up the process of harmonising vehicle standards and certification. This will be helped by an initiative from the Japanese to discuss a system for International Whole Vehicle Type Approval.
ACEA is, however, calling on the EU to take a very careful view of the results of the scoping exercise, especially regarding the elimination of tariffs and potential tariff barriers which have so far allowed non-Japanese automanufacturers to take les than 5% of the Japanese vehicle market.
