A huge new trade deal the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) grabbed headlines this week, as America and various Asian and Latin American nations finally signed on the dotted line after five years of back-and-forthing. Now, we're all for free trade and the abolition of tariffs, and while the details of these deals usually reveal all sorts of loopholes and cop-outs and nods to special interests in one country or another, there's enough there for us to like the look of in terms of what positives there might be for one of our favourite markets Japan.
Any deal that can loosen the grip of the agricultural lobby "could have a significant effect on Japan", which provides more taxpayer support to its farmers than pretty much any other wealthy country, notes Jonathan Allum of SMBC Nikko Capital Markets. Of course, the deal still needs to be ratified by the individual countries (although America and Japan are the most important signatories), so it's likely to be a while before any impact becomes apparent.
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