New Global Trade Order Series: Hiroshi Oe, Permanent Representative of Japan to the OECD

Ambassador Oe will join Asia House corporate members on 3 July for a private, off-the-record briefing as part of the Asia House New Global Trade Order Series. He was appointed Permanent Representative of Japan to the OECD in 2017.  Prior to that, he was Japan’s Chief Negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2016, and Deputy Chief Negotiator for the TPP from 2013 to 2016.  

The recent G7 summit ended in acrimony after US President Donald Trump refused to sign off on the joint communique, attacking the other members for supposedly unfair trade practices, especially on automobile tariffs. This attack on the current world trading system occurs at the same time as the European Union (EU) and Japan are emphasising their free-trading bona fides. They are likely to sign the landmark EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, a free-trade deal, in late June or early July.

While Japanese PM Shinzo Abe initially called the TPP “meaningless” without Washington’s leadership and access to the huge US market, Tokyo subsequently changed its mind and led the establishment of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the TPP (CPTPP) among the 11 remaining members this March.  CPTPP countries look set to ratify the deal by 2019, and Japanese focus will then most likely turn to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).  Japan is keen to leverage the RCEP to incorporate India into the trade liberalisation of Asia. 

Ambassador Oe will brief corporate members on his perspectives on the shifts in the global trade order, his experiences negotiating the hard-won TPP and the outlook for Japanese trade with Europe and Asia.

This briefing is for Asia House corporate members only. To register, or for any further information, please contact Aini Abdullah in the Business & Policy Team at: aini.abdullah@asiahouse.co.uk

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