The European Union-Japan economic partnership agreement: trends and issues in the wine economy[[L'accord de partenariat économique Union Européenne-Japon et l'économie du vin]]

This article briefly analyzes the implications for the wine sector of the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and Japan on the 17th of July 2018. After having recalled the consequences on all the exchanges and then on the agri-food sector, the effects on the wine sector were specified, in particular the disappearance of the 15% customs duties and the recognition of PDOs and PGIs. This note recalls the classic advantages of this type of agreement but underlines the complexity of an impact assessment by market segments. The power of the EU wine is compared to the Japanese weakness. But this agreement is also seen as enabling the EU to level the playing field with the signatory countries of the Trans-Pacific Agreement: Australia, Chile, New Zealand and the United States. Finally, due to the nature and origins of their wines, the Japanese wine production is expected to remain in a highly differentiated market segment, rather oriented towards high prices following the German and Swiss models.