On the trade front, Maas highlighted how the EU-Japan deal had created new standards for global trade in environmental and climate issues, consumer protection, social standards, and competition law. Ongoing negotiations on investment protection arrangements could also result in new standards in this area according to experts.
“That’s what I mean by the term ‘rule shaper’ in quite practical terms,” Maas uttered. “However, it is perhaps even more important to send a signal both eastwards and westwards – one that says that we don’t think of free trade as a zero-sum game. Trade with reliable rules creates prosperity for everyone at the end of the day.”
Maas added, however, that the World Trade Organisation needed to be modernised. He suggested Germany and Japan could act as pioneers in developing modern rules for digital trade and for dealing with state enterprises. The minister also suggested trilateral cooperation with the United States, wherever possible, to fight against unfair practices such as the obstacles companies face in accessing markets in China.
For further information:
- Japanese Embassy to Germany (HE Ambassador Takeshi Yagi): http://www.de.emb-
japan.go.jp/presse/pm_180725_ 1.html
