What is the name of the trade agreement between the EU and Japan that took effect in 2019?

The trade agreement between the European Union and Japan that took effect in 2019 is the EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.

The agreement was signed in Tokyo on July 17, 2018, after negotiations that ran from 2013 to 2017. It entered into force on February 1, 2019, reducing or eliminating many tariffs and setting common rules for commerce between the EU and Japan.

The EPA covers trade in goods and services, customs procedures, regulatory cooperation, public procurement, intellectual property, and sustainable development. It was designed to make it easier for European and Japanese companies to sell in each other’s markets while preserving specific protections for sensitive products.

It is sometimes called the Japan–EU Free Trade Agreement or JEFTA, although “Economic Partnership Agreement” is the formal wording most commonly used by the parties. It should not be confused with the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which would have involved the EU and United States, or with the separate EU–Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement.