Japan, European Union sign free trade deal to defy Trump protectionism

The deal is the biggest ever negotiated by the EU and will create an open trade zone covering nearly a third of the world's GDP

Japan and the European Union signed a wide-ranging free trade deal on Tuesday that both sides hope will act as a counterweight to the protectionist forces unleashed by US President Donald Trump.

The ambitious trade pact, which creates the world’s largest open economic area, comes amid fears that a trade war between the United States and China will diminish the role of free trade in the global economic order. 

"There are rising concerns about protectionism, but I want Japan and the EU to lead the world by bearing the flag of free trade,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a