Expectations of Japanese Small and Medium Enterprises Regarding the EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement. Analysis from an Independent Survey

Abstract

We investigate the expectations of Japanese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) regarding the effects of the EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on their exports to the European Union through an analysis of their responses to an independent survey. The survey targets Japanese exporting SMEs, including those that currently do not export to the European Union. We built the database of Japanese exporting SMEs based on information available from the Japan External Trade Organization, business association websites, local trade directories, and so on. The survey contains 26 questions structured in three parts. The questions aim to identify the profile of the respondent firms in the first part, their approach to the European Union’s markets in the second part, and the opinion of the Japanese exporting SMEs on the EU–Japan EPA in the third part. From the responses to the survey, it can be seen that even though most respondents do not think that the EU–Japan EPA will help increase their exports to EU markets, most of them would have preferred an earlier implementation. This could imply firms’ preference for an easier export framework, which is favoured by the application of EPAs.