TOKYO, May 19 — Japan’s lower house has approved the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), also known as the TPP-11, despite opposition efforts to threaten the smooth ratification process. In the May 18 morning, the lower house foreign affairs committee had approved the TPP-11 bill and sent it to the entire chamber to vote on the same day. The trade bill will be approved automatically 30 days after it is sent to the upper house. But for Japan, that is not the end of the ratification process. The governing coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Komeito party needs to pass the TPP-11 related bills, including measures to compensate … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 18 — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reaffirmed that he will not accept any terms that would shift the balance of benefits further in favor of the U.S. in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), even if the U.S. might return. “In the agriculture area, there will be no more concession.” Abe told the lower house cabinet committee on May 17. “I made the promises to our farmers and I will stick to my guns,” he added. Abe cited a recent exchange with the U.S. President Donald Trump over the TPP and said: “I made it clear to Mr. Trump that our offer was pretty much the maximum Japan … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 17 — Japan would lose out on 74 billion yen in tariff revenues once the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), also known as TPP-11, fully comes into force. Revenue loss from agriculture imports has the most important impact, when the TPP-11 is fully implemented — a revenue loss of 62 billion yen. The revenue loss from the TPP-11 tariff cuts would add more pressure on farmers, because the revenues have been used to support programs to enhance farm income and promote stability for farm businesses, such as beef and dairy. Experts say that the lost revenue must be replaced in some different manner to maintain the programs. The government … Continue reading →