U.K. set to remove tariffs on Japanese cars in 2026, Nikkei says

The U.K. is set to abolish tariffs on Japanese cars by 2026 under a trade deal the two countries are seeking to complete by the end of the month, the Nikkei newspaper reported Sunday, without saying where it got the information.

The tariff agreement is in line with Japan’s existing deal with the EU on auto tariffs.

The Nikkei report came after Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and British Trade Secretary Liz Truss met in London last week to push the negotiations forward.

Following Brexit, the two countries are rushing to replace the U.K. part of the Japan-EU trade deal before time runs out on Britain’s transition period at the end of the year. Failure to put a new framework in place by that time would mean higher tariffs from 2021.

The two sides are also clashing over British cheese exports, with the UK seeking to expand a lower-tariff quota agreed between Japan and the EU, while Japan wants to maintain the status quo, the paper said.