The European Union and Japan are nearing completion of negotiations on a free-trade deal. The negotiations got a boost recently when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, according to Reuters. The European Union over the weekend said the free-trade deal with Japan is possible by early next year if Japan opens to EU farm goods and Europe can grant open access to cars from Japan. EU trade officials say negotiators made significant progress in the past two weeks, and Japan has indicated a deal could be reached by the end of this month. However, it looks more likely that a deal will be completed early next year.