Merkel, Abe seek to avoid no-deal Brexit chaos

Bloomberg

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said they want to head off a no-deal Brexit that could rattle their economies, as both braced against the UK’s increasingly chaotic course towards an exit from the EU.
Abe and Merkel, both 64, are two of the most outspoken defenders of the international order being shaken by Brexit and the US-China trade war, as well as President Donald Trump’s questioning of decades-old alliances. Their summit in Tokyo on Monday came days after a Japan-European Union trade agreement came into effect, removing almost all tariffs.
“I conveyed to Chancellor Merkel our strong expectations that a no-deal Brexit will be avoided,” Abe told reporters after the talks. “Japan wants the effect on Japanese companies, and on the economy, to be kept to a minimum.”
Merkel said she would do what she could to avoid a no-deal scenario. She arrived in Japan hours after Nissan Motor Co. announced it had scrapped a plan to build a sport-utility vehicle in the UK, amid uncertainty over the country’s future ties with the EU.
The German leader brought with her a delegation of top executives from companies including Siemens AG and Bayer AG. She and Abe also announced at the news briefing a basic agreement on information security that would allow more defense cooperation.
Merkel called on EU leaders last month to shape the process of the UK’s separation from the Europe in a “responsible way.” Initially an outspoken opponent of Brexit, Abe has more recently called for it to be done in a way that minimizes the effect on Japanese businesses in the UK.
Some of Japan’s biggest brands including Nissan, tech conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. and fashion brand Uniqlo use the UK as their foothold in Europe and are worried they could get caught in the crossfire.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Abe said trust in the international trade system must be rebuilt, and urged reform of the WTO to keep it in line with global changes.
Japan and Germany are both awaiting a February 17 deadline for the US Commerce Department to publish a report on the national security implications of auto imports that could justify tariffs on foreign cars.