Tag - fta

 
Menu
Search
 
July 02, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

FTA

Leaders from Mercosur nations pose for a family photo while attending the Mercosur Summit in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, in December 2025.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 3, 2026
Japan prepares to launch trade talks with Mercosur
The move comes as the government feels the need to expand markets and diversify supply chains in response to U.S. tariff policies and China’s restrictions on rare earth exports.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a deal which will slash tariffs between the trading partners, in Canberra on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2026
Australia and the EU seal long-awaited trade deal amid global trade tensions
The agreement will remove tariffs for almost all European goods and for nearly all exports of Australian ​critical minerals.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz‑Canel takes part in a march outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana on Jan. 16 to protest the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. He also honored the Cuban soldiers who were killed in that incident.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
The next Cuban revolution could be peaceful
U.S. President Donald Trump’s effective oil blockade of Cuba has plunged the country into crisis.
South Korea’s lack of a free trade deal with Mexico puts it at a disadvantage to Japanese rival carmakers.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2025
Mexican tariffs give Japan’s carmakers an edge over Korean rivals
Higher tariffs are expected to apply to a list of more than 1,400 categories of products coming from countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the EU-Japan summit in Brussels in July 2023. Economic cooperation between the EU, Japan and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is showing promise but faces political and structural hurdles that could limit progress.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2025
EU-CPTPP talks highlight shared goals and stubborn obstacles
EU economic cooperation with Japan and the CPTPP shows promise but could face political and structural hurdles that limit progress.
U.K. Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom holds a news conference on Friday in Tokyo ahead of Britain's entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2024
Britain joins trans-Pacific pact in biggest post-Brexit trade deal
The accession means Britain will be able to apply CPTPP trade rules and lower tariffs with eight of the 11 existing members.
Paraguay Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano says that the free trade agreement to be negotiated between Tokyo and Mercosur would include goods and services, including agricultural products, which is very important for Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024
Mercosur ‘ready’ to resume FTA talks with Japan, Paraguay foreign minister says
The bloc is keen to expand ties with Asia as it seeks to boost trade and deepen economic integration with partners beyond the U.S., Europe and China.
Taiwan's Chief trade negotiator John Deng. Taipei is seeking to expand U.S. trade talks, as the island faces challenges from China in its effort to join the CPTPP.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 6, 2023
Taiwan looks to expand U.S. trade deal to counter isolation
The island’s trade officials are talking with their U.S. counterparts about broadening the scope of their current arrangement, reached earlier this year.
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework leaders pose for a family photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2023
Indo-Pacific trade deal prospects dim as U.S. election year looms
Election-year pressures and resistance to tough commitments from some countries make a deal unlikely anytime soon, observers say.
Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell discussed a regional trade pact with Japan's economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura during their meeting in Osaka on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 30, 2023
Australia reassures Japan on CPTPP and strength of relationship
Australian Trade Minister discussed a regional trade pact with Japan’s economy minister during their meeting in Osaka.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2023
U.K. formally signs up to CPTPP trading bloc
The move makes the United Kingdom the first new member and first European nation to join the bloc since it was created in 2018.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2023
U.K. to sign CPTPP trade deal, shifting focus to China
The U.K. will next weekend become the first new member since the framework came into force, shifting attention to a list of other applicant countries headed by China.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2023
Ukraine planning to apply for membership in major Pacific trade pact
If Ukraine follows in the footsteps of Britain and its bid to join the pact, the free trade bloc would continue to move beyond its Pacific roots.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2023
U.K. to join Indo-Pacific trade bloc in major post-Brexit pact
The British government views membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership as a boost for economic growth and geopolitical relations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2023
EU seeks trade deal with U.S. to unlock EV benefits
The agreement would give EU partners access to some benefits included in U.S. President Joe Biden’s massive green investment plan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2023
Philippine lawmakers ratify entry to world’s largest trade pact
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership includes 10 Southeast Asian economies along with China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2022
Britain gets approval for next step to join trans-Pacific trade pact
London will be expected to submit its market access offer, such as on tariffs, to members within the next 30 days, Japan’s Cabinet Secretariat said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 22, 2021
Taiwan applies to join Pacific trade deal just days after China
Taiwan already has free trade deals with two of the members — New Zealand and Singapore — and has been working toward joining the trade agreement for years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 17, 2021
China formally applies to join Asian trade deal that Trump abandoned
The application is the result of months of behind-the-scenes discussions after President Xi Jinping said in 2020 the nation was interested in joining.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 18, 2021
China quietly continues effort to join trade pact created to exclude it
Officials from Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand have held technical talks with Chinese counterparts on the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Reform panel calls for easing data center building standards
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized that the government will promote reforms of regulations and systems that fit the artificial intelligence era.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency
New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER