Factbox: Likely winners and losers from a Japan-EU trade deal

Kanematsu

04/07/2017 15:12

BRUSSELS/TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) - The leaders of Japan and 
the European Union aim to agree a free-trade deal in Brussels on 
Thursday that would remove almost all customs duties and give 
greater market access to Japanese car manufacturers and European 
food exporters.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1JV0F6 
    Here are some of the likely winners and losers from the 
expected deal: 
     
    - The accord is expected to be a boost for Japanese auto 
makers Toyota  7203.T , Nissan  7201.T , Suzuki  7269.T  and 
Mazda  7261.T , whose European sales still lag behind market 
leaders Volkswagen AG  VOWG_p.DE  and PSA Group  PEUP.PA . 
Japanese auto parts makers Denso Corp  6902.T , Aisin Seiki Co 
 7259.T , and JTEKT Corp  6473.T  also stand to gain. 
     
    - Europe's food sector is the other big winner, especially 
in high-quality regional specialities. Japan imposes high 
tariffs on imports of premium European food and drink products, 
including wines, cheese, chocolate, meats, and pasta. Wine, 
along with vermouth, cider, and vinegar, constituted the second 
largest EU food export category to Japan in 2016.  
     
    - Japanese trading house Kanematsu Corp would welcome the 
agreement, as would Kirin Holdings Co and Asahi Group Holdings 
Ltd. However, they might see a blow to their distribution of 
Japanese wines.  
     
    - French suppliers Pernod Ricard and LVMH Moet Hennessy 
Louis Vuitton should also benefit from the reduction in tariffs 
for premium liquors, wines and spirits.  
     
    - The European Commission predicts an increase of up to 10 
billion euros ($11.34 billion) for EU exports of processed food, 
including meat and dairy products, or between 170 percent and 
180 percent once the deal takes full effect and tariffs are 
gradually removed. 
     
    - However, Japanese dairy companies such as Meiji  2269.T  
and Megmilk Snow Brand Co  2270.T  will face greater 
competition. They are protected by tariffs of up to 40 percent 
on processed cheese, which will slowly be removed. Megmilk 
dominates two-thirds of the domestic market for soft cheese and 
could lose customers.      
    - Competition will come in the form of European dairy 
manufacturers such as Danone  DANO.PA , Lactalis and Nestle 
 NESN.S . 
     
    - Pork products made up the largest single EU food export to 
Japan in 2016. Exporters from Spain and Denmark hope to 
capitalize on growing Japanese demand for speciality processed 
meats such as ham, salami, and cured bacon.  
($1 = 0.8817 euros) 
 
 (Reporting by Elizabeth Miles in Brussels and Stanley White in 
Tokyo; editing by Susan Thomas) 
 ((elizabeth.miles@thomsonreuters.com;)) 
 
Keywords: JAPAN EU/TRADE