Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, second from right, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic and Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto attend a Japan-European Union high-level economic dialogue in Tokyo on May 8, 2025. (Kyodo)
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan and the European Union on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of their collaboration in maintaining “free and rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core,” at a time U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are shaking global economies.
During their high-level dialogue on economic issues in Tokyo, the two sides also agreed to cooperate with “like-minded partners” in the economic security field including beefing up supply chains, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto attended the meeting with EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic.
The three “exchanged their views on the significant challenges that the global economic order is now facing,” the ministry said, in an apparent reference to Trump’s high tariffs imposed even on U.S. allies under his unilateralist “America First” banner.
Japan and the EU launched the dialogue in 2018 and held the previous gathering in May last year in Paris. On Friday, Sefcovic is scheduled to visit the venue of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka in western Japan.