Japan's economic partnership agreement with the European Union entered into force on Friday, creating a free trade area covering about a third of the world's economy.The pact will eliminate tariffs on most reciprocal trade, which covers markets of over 600 million people, encourage business investment and ensure the protection of intellectual property rights, as Japan and the European Union hope to provide a strong counter to creeping protectionism amid a U.S.-China tariff war.Under the pact signed in July and ratified in December after five years of negotiations, consumers will gain access…READ FULL ARTICLE
