JAMA reiterates its support for enhanced EU-Japan economic integration at a business seminar in Brussels
At a JETRO-organised business seminar on 8 March in Brussels, Mr Yoshihiro Yano, Director General of JAMA’s International Department, talked about the need to achieve new momentum for enhanced economic partnership through an EU-Japan Economic Integration Agreement. On this occasion, Mr Yano also introduced the conclusions of an impact assessment study by the Mitsubishi Research Institute and its quantifications of the benefits of an EIA for both the EU and Japanese vehicle markets.
Advancing IWVTA
At the most recent meeting of the Informal Group on IWVTA, held in Paris on 9 March, progress was made in the development of a system for establishing International Whole Vehicle Type Approval. While consideration of candidate items for technical regulations applicable to IWVTA continues, agreement was reached on various procedural and other matters. The Informal Group meets again in June, and meanwhile two subgroups are to start working on the revision of the 1958 Agreement and the text of the IWVTA regulations. JAMA actively supports the IWVTA initiative and looks forward to its early implementation, so as to ensure high levels of vehicle safety and environmental performance while reducing the costs of compliance with different regulations worldwide.
JAMA welcomes international commitment to fighting counterfeit trade
On 23 January the European Union joined countries from around the world in signing on to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) at a ceremony in Tokyo, marking another step towards the treaty’s entry into force. ACTA establishes an international legal framework for combatting the proliferation of counterfeiting and piracy, providing national authorities with the tools needed to fight such illicit trade.
GREEN IS THE COLOUR
By Peter Nunn
Japan’s roads are becoming greener. Peter Nunn discusses the Japanese government’s new round of tax incentives and subsidies for the purchase of eco-friendly vehicles, including heavy-duty trucks and buses, and provides some specific examples, in terms of both Japanese- and European-brand passenger car models, of the benefits to be gained.
