‘Beyond the Galapagos Syndrome’: Mapping the Future of UK-Japan Economic Cooperation Luke Cavanaugh (ed.), Olivia Bisbee, Owain Cooke, Kezzie Florin-Sefton, Elizabeth Steel
II. BILATERAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION II.I UK-Japan Bilateral Trade Cooperation Both Japan and the UK are deeply integrated in their regional economies and have strong trade ties with the United States, aligning with their firm strategic and political bilateral ties with this key partner. However, the UK and Japan also have a strong bilateral trading relationship that significantly impacts both of their economies, making cooperation in this area a priority. Japan is the UK’s 11th largest trading partner and 4th largest non-EU partner, while the UK is Japan’s 13th largest trading partner in terms of exports. 35 The top export goods from the UK to Japan are mechanical power generators, cars, medicinal products and pharmaceutical products, while services exports, predominantly in financial and professional services, are valued at around £8.0bn (2019). In turn, Japan exports cars, mechanical power generators, and electrical goods, along with services such as intellectual property valued at around £6.6bn (2019). 36 Japan has been an attractive market for British businesses, evidenced by the fact that the UK was Japan’s fourth largest foreign investor in 2018. 37 Furthermore, an estimated 9,500 VAT registered British businesses export £6.3bn worth of goods to Japan, and around 6,700 VAT registered businesses import £9.9bn worth of goods from Japan. British businesses which have chosen to establish a base in Japan have found it a stable
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Secretary of State for International Trade, ‘The United Kingdom’s Future Trading Relationship with Japan’ (October 2020) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/929175/U K-Future-Trading-Relationship-with-Japan-accessible.pdf accessed 17 October, 2021; Daniel Workman, ‘Japan’s Top Trading Partners’ (World’s Top Exports), https://www.worldstopexports.com/japans-top-import-partners/ accessed 17 October, 2021. 36 Secretary of State for International Trade, ‘The United Kingdom’s Future Trading Relationship with Japan’ (n 39) 37 Secretary of State for International Trade, ‘The United Kingdom’s Future Trading Relationship with Japan’ (n 39)
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