Live on Bloomberg TV

00:00WITH BREXIT LOOMING IS THERE CONSIDERED EFFORT TO GET JAPANESE INVESTMENTS INTO THE EU. HOW MUCH URGENCY IS THERE? PATRICIA: WELL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE. LET ME SAY THAT 2019 HAS BEEN A VERY GOOD YEAR IN TERMS OF RELATIONS WITH THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT COMING INTO FORCE. OF COURSE, THAT MEANS WE WANT TO SHOW OFF OUR ECONOMIES, ENSURING THAT WE CAN BENEFIT WITH TRADE BETWEEN THE EU AND JAPAN. LET ME MAKE ONE COMMENT IN REGARDING THE BREXIT ISSUE. YES? HASLINDA: GO AHEAD. PATRICIA: YES, OF COURSE THERE HAS BEEN TRADITIONALLY A LOT OF INVESTMENT FROM JAPAN IN THE EU, INCLUDING THE U.K., AND THAT MEANS FROM THE YIELD PERSPECTIVE, THE KEY IS TO ENSURE AN ORDERLY BREXIT TO GET THEM TO CERTAINTY FOR BUSINESSES SO BOTH THE EU AND THE U.K. AND ALL OUR FOREIGN PARTNERS CAN THEN CONTINUE TO DO BUSINESS WITH EACH OTHER. HASLINDA: BUT HOW CRITICAL IS JAPAN AS A PARTNER IN AN INCREASINGLY BIFURCATED WORLD? PATRICIA: FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, JAPAN IS REALLY ESSENTIAL. WE ARE CLOSE TO 30% OF THE GLOBAL GDP, AND THAT MEANS IF WE MANAGE TO DO WELL IN OUR TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS TO INCREASE INVESTMENT AND SERVICES AND ALSO TO DO THAT IN A RURAL SPACE WAY, THEN WE CAN WEATHER THE STORMS BETTER. WE CAN DO BETTER IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND IT WOULD HELP STABILIZE A LARGE PORTION OF GLOBAL TRADE. YVONNE: WE TALK ABOUT HOW CRITICAL JAPAN IS FOR THE U.K. ECONOMY, A THOUSAND JAPANESE COMPANIES SIMILAR THAT OPERATE IN THE U.K. WHAT ARE THE CONVERSATIONS YOU ' RE HAVING WITH JAPANESE BUSINESSES? WHAT ARE THE KEY CONCERNS WHEN IT COMES TO BREXIT? PATRICIA: THE KEY CONCERNS FROM THE START HAS BEEN WHAT WILL BE THE FUTURE OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE U.K. AND THE EUROPEAN UNION AND AT THAT POINT WE WANT TO WITHDRAW TO BE AGREED BECAUSE IT WOULD GIVE US UNCERTAINTY IN THE INTERIM PERIOD. BUT WE WANT A CLOSE ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP IN THE FUTURE. THAT WOULD ALSO ENSURE FOR JAPANESE BUSINESSES THAT THEY WILL KNOW THE TERMS OF THE POINT OF ENTRY FROM THE U.K. AND THAT IS CRITICAL FOR THEM. MANY OF THEM HAVE ASKED HOW SHOULD WE DEAL WITH BREXIT? MANY OF THEM HAVE MADE DECISIONS. FOR INSTANCE, RELOCATING. I THINK IT ' S CLEAR FOR ALL OF THE PARTNERS CONCERN, INCLUDING JAPAN TO INCLUDE AN ORDERLY BREXIT WILL BE KEY. YVONNE: SO YOU ' VE ALREADY SEEN PEOPLE OR COMPANIES MOVING OUT OF THE U.K. TO THE EU? HAVE YOU SEEN MOVEMENT ON THAT FRONT ALREADY? PATRICIA: OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO TALK TO THE INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES, BUT YES, I KNOW SOME BANKS AND OTHER COMPANIES HAVE MAJOR THEY HAVE AN OFFICE AND REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS, WHICH IS IN -- WITHIN THE EU 27. HASLINDA: AMBASSADOR, PRESIDENT TRUMP IS MULLING IMPOSING AUTO TARIFFS ON BOTH THE EU AND JAPAN. ARE THE TWO SIDES COLLABORATING TO COUNTER TRUMP ' S EFFORTS? PATRICIA: WELL, FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY THE EU HAS ALWAYS INSISTED ON THEM DOING TRADE AND AGREEMENTS, WITHIN THEM THE RULES GIVEN BY THE TRADE ORGANIZATION. THAT MEANS WE ' VE ALWAYS SAID THAT IS PART AND PARCEL OF OUR TRADE DEALS, LIKE THE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH JAPAN. THEREFORE, OF COURSE IT ' S ALSO CLEAR WE DO NOT WANT TO SEE MORE DAMAGE TO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY BEING DONE BY INCREASING TARIFFS. THE EPA BETWEEN JAPAN AND EU HAS BROUGHT ALL TARIFFS DOWN ON 95% OF OUR TRADE IMMEDIATELY, WITH THE FIRST OF FEBRUARY OF 2019, AND WE ARE LOOKING AT 99% OF THE TARIFFS BEING GONE AT THE END OF THE NEXT 15 YEARS. FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW, THIS IS THE WAY TO GO FORWARD, A FAIR, LEVEL PLAYING FIELD BASED ON WTO ' S. HASLINDA: THERE IS A GENERAL RETREAT FROM GLOBALIZATION IN THE AUTO SECTOR. JAPANESE MANUFACTURERS ARE PULLING OUT OF FACTORIES IN THE EU. HOW WORRIED ARE YOU ABOUT THIS? PATRICIA: FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY WE HAVE TODAY A GLOBAL VALUE CHAIN AND GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN. AND THAT IS WHY, TO BREAK DOWN THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC ECONOMY INTO THE BILATERAL ISSUES OR BILATERAL AGREEMENTS IS NOT THE WAY TO GO. LET MAY ALSO EMPHASIZE HERE THAT JAPAN, EU, AND ALSO THE U.S., HAVE A STRONG COOPERATION TO ADDRESS WTO REFORMS. BECAUSE OF COURSE, WE NEED A GLOBAL RULEBOOK BASED ON THE WTO ' S, WHICH WOULD THEN ALLOW ALL OF US TO BENEFIT FROM GOOD ECONOMIC RELATIONS, INCLUDING IN THE INDUSTRIAL AREA, MEANING OTHER INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS. .

No schedule data available.

BTV Channel FinderWatch BTV in your area

A Close Future EU-Japan Relationship Is Key, Says EU Ambassador to Japan

EU Ambassador to Japan Patricia Flor discusses Brexit and the relationship between the EU and Japan. She speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: Asia.” (Source: Bloomberg)

More From Bloomberg Markets
All episodes and clips