The 5th EU-Japan High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) announced yesterday an initiative towards stronger collaboration to develop transparent, resilient and sustainable supply chains.

The HLED was co-chaired by Executive Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, and the Japanese Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Kamikawa Yoko, and Economy, Trade and Industry, Saito Ken.

The EU and Japan aim to coordinate and advance their efforts to address strategic dependencies and systemic vulnerabilities in global supply chains by improving their resilience and reliability, particularly in the context of addressing risks related to non-market economies and unfair competition. They pledged to work closely together on climate change, energy security, cyber security, and stability of supply, based on jointly agreed principles.

The EU and Japan stressed the importance of enhancing their cooperation on economic security and reiterated the essential role of the international rules-based trading system in underpinning the stability of global trade.

Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, said: “This initiative marks the start of an important new workstream with Japan on an issue of critical importance. In a turbulent world, economic security matters more than ever. I look forward to cooperating with Japan – a trusted ally – on ensuring secure and resilient supply chains in these uncertain times.”