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EU, Japan have ‘agreement in principle’ on free trade deal

In this Saturday, July 1, 2017, photo, a customer looks at various types of imported cheese sold at a department store in Tokyo. Japan’s foreign minister is preparing to head to Brussels to seek a breakthrough in talks on a free trade agreement with the European Union. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said over the weekend that he was hopeful the two sides would resolve remaining differences, mainly over trade in cheese and autos, before Friday’s summit of the Group of 20 industrial nations. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) In this Saturday, July 1, 2017, photo, a customer looks at various types of imported cheese sold at a department store in Tokyo. Japan’s foreign minister is preparing to head to Brussels to seek a breakthrough in talks on a free trade agreement with the European Union. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said over the weekend that he was hopeful the two sides would resolve remaining differences, mainly over trade in cheese and autos, before Friday’s summit of the Group of 20 industrial nations. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

By Associated Press July 5, 2017 1 min read

BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union and Japan have reached an “agreement in principle” on a free trade deal that will affect an overwhelming majority of commerce between the two economic giants and will be officially endorsed at a summit of their leaders Thursday.

EU Council President Donald Tusk and Japanese Prime Minister Abe will meet on Thursday and will be able to shake hands on the landmark deal, which took four years of negotiations.

A senior EU official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been officially announced, said that top negotiators “found agreement in principle at their level.”

He added they “felt confident to recommend to our leaders tomorrow to confirm that agreement as the next crucial step.”