EU Plans to Propose International Trade Restrictions on All Eels, Including Japanese Eel, Which Japan Plans to Oppose
According to EU diplomatic sources, it was agreed upon at an EU ministerial meeting Monday to request all eel species be listed in Appendix II of the Washington Convention, which would require export permits to be issued by the exporting country. The regulations would apply not only to juvenile and adult eels but also to processed eel products.
Inclusion in Appendix II of the treaty requires approval by a two-thirds majority of countries at a meeting of signatory members, making it still unclear whether the proposal will be approved.
Japan manages Japanese eel resources with China, South Korea and Taiwan. As Tokyo believes that there is a sufficient amount of Japanese eels and no further regulations are necessary, it is expected to oppose the proposal.
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Japan Today
20 minutes ago
- Japan Today
What we know so far about the EU-US trade deal
The EU-US trade deal means the 27-country bloc will face a baseline US levy of 15 percent - instead of a threatened 30 percent By Raziye Akkoc EU chief Ursula von der Leyen clinched an agreement Sunday with US President Donald Trump to avoid crippling tariffs from hitting the bloc, with both leaders hailing a "good deal". The stakes were high with a looming August 1 deadline and $1.9 trillion transatlantic trading relationship on the line. Many European businesses will breathe a sigh of relief after the leaders agreed the 27-country bloc will face a baseline levy of 15 percent instead of a threatened 30 percent -- but the deal will not satisfy everyone. Here is what we know so far: What did EU, US agree? Both sides confirmed there will be a 15-percent across-the-board rate on a majority of EU goods -- the same level secured by Japan this month -- with bilateral tariff exemptions on some products. The deal will bring relief for the bloc's auto sector, employing around 13 million people -- and hit by Trump with 25-percent tariffs, on top of a pre-existing 2.5 percent. "Obviously, it is good news for the car industry. So Germany will be happy. And all the EU members with auto supply chains, they go from 27.5 to 15 percent," said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute For International Economics. A 15-percent levy will remain "costly" for German automakers, "but it is manageable", said trade geopolitics expert Elvire Fabry at the Jacques Delors Institute. While 15 percent is much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods -- averaging 4.8 percent -- it mirrors the status quo, with companies currently facing an additional flat rate of 10 percent imposed by Trump since April. The EU also committed to buy $750 billion of liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels from the United States -- split equally over three years -- to replace Russian energy sources. And it will pour $600 billion more in additional investments in the United States. Trump said EU countries -- which recently pledged to ramp up their defence spending within NATO -- would be purchasing "hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of military equipment". Are there exemptions? Von der Leyen said the 15-percent rate applied across most sectors, including semiconductors and pharmaceuticals -- a critical export for Ireland, which the bloc has sought to protect. Trump in April launched probes that could lead to significantly steeper tariffs on the two key sectors, warning this month he could slap 200-percent levies on drugs. Brussels and Washington agreed a bilateral tariff exemption for key goods including aircraft, certain chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products and critical raw materials, von der Leyen said. The EU currently faces 50-percent tariffs on its steel exports to the United States, but von der Leyen said a compromise on the metal had been reached with Trump. "Between us, tariffs will be cut and a quota system will be put in place," she said. It is understood that European steel would be hit with 50-percent levies only after a certain amount of the metal arrived in the United States, but no details were initially provided on the mechanism. What happens next? The deal needs to be approved by EU member states, whose ambassadors will meet first thing Monday morning for a debrief from the European Commission. And there are still technical talks to come, since the agreement needs to be fully fleshed out. Von der Leyen described the deal as a "framework" agreement. "Details have to be sorted out, and that will happen over the next weeks," she said. In particular, she said there has yet to be a final decision on alcohol, critical since France and The Netherlands have been pushing for carve-outs for wine and beer respectively. "This is something which has to be sorted out in the next days," von der Leyen said. © 2025 AFP
Nikkei Asia
3 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
US and EU agree to 15% tariff on EU goods, $600bn in investments
TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) -- The United States struck a framework trade deal with the European Union on Sunday, imposing a 15% U.S. import tariff on most EU goods but averting a spiraling battle between two allies which account for almost a third of global trade. The announcement came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at his golf course in western Scotland to push a hard-fought deal over the line. "I think this is the biggest deal ever made," Trump told reporters after an hourlong meeting with von der Leyen, who said the 15% tariff applied "across the board." "We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability," she said. The deal, that also includes $600 billion of EU investments in the United States and significant EU purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment, will indeed bring clarity for EU companies. However, the baseline tariff of 15% will be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared to the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal, although it is better than the threatened 30% rate. The deal mirrors parts of the framework agreement the United States clinched with Japan last week. "We are agreeing that the tariff ... for automobiles, and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%," Trump said. However, the 15% baseline rate would not apply to steel and aluminum, for which a 50% tariff would remain in place. Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits, has so far reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of "90 deals in 90 days." He has periodically railed against the European Union, saying it was "formed to screw the United States" on trade. Arriving in Scotland, Trump said that the EU wanted "to make a deal very badly" and said, as he met with von der Leyen, that Europe had been "very unfair to the United States." His main bugbear is the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The EU points to the U.S. surplus in services, which it says partially redresses the balance. Trump also talked on Sunday about the "hundreds of billions of dollars" that tariffs were bringing in. On July 12, Trump threatened to apply a 30% tariff on imports from the EU starting on Aug. 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. The EU had prepared countertariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods in the event there was no deal and Trump had pressed ahead with 30% tariffs. Some member states had also pushed for the bloc to use its most powerful trade weapon, the anticoercion instrument, to target U.S. services in the event of a no-deal.
NHK
3 hours ago
- NHK
US, EU agree on 15% tariff
US President Donald Trump says he has reached a tariff agreement with the European Union. Trump had said Washington would impose a 30 percent levy on goods from the EU starting on August 1. But he told reporters on Sunday after a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the rate will be set at 15 percent.
