Germany, Japan push trade agreement

Japan is EU's second-biggest Asian trading partner after China

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a concerted effort to defend free trade, expanding the list of economic powers joining together to counter the US shift toward protectionism.
 
Barely 48 hours after Merkel and President Donald Trump clashed on economic policy at their first White House meeting, the German leader called for swift conclusion of a trade accord between Japan and the European Union. That followed a renewed German-Chinese commitment to open markets on the eve of her trip to Washington and Merkel’s backing for a free-trade accord between the EU and Mercosur,