Reuters The European Union and Japan reached a major free trade deal on Tuesday. European Council President Donald Tusk said the deal showed that the EU and Japan "stand together against protectionism." The move is another example of how many governments — from the EU to Canada to even China — have responded to US President Donald Trump's recent trade protectionism. Leaders from the European Union and Japan formally signed a new free trade pact on Tuesday, the latest in a series of moves toward trade liberalization and a direct rebuke to US President Donald Trump's recent trade protectionism. The deal, known as the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement or EPA, would lower most bilateral tariffs including high Japanese duties on EU agricultural products and EU tariffs on Japanese cars.