In July 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA) announced they had reached agreement on the mutual recognition of certain derivatives trading venues in the US and Japan, helping to improve efficiency in cross-border trading between participants in those countries.

This guide describes the practical implications of how cross-border trading will work following this agreement, and sets out the issues that market participants should consider. In particular, it analyzes the effect of mutual recognition on the order flow of trades executed on US and Japanese venues, and highlights areas where further alignment is necessary.