Category Archives: Trade Talks

TOKYO, Aug. 31 ─ The 11 members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have agreed to put a provision for drug monopoly protection period on ice, until the United States returns to the TPP. Senior trade officials from the 11 members met in Sydney to discuss how the TPP is being implemented without the U.S. at a three-day meeting that ended on Aug. 30. The drug monopoly protection of eight years was one of the thorniest issues that many members had to concede to U.S. demands during the TPP negotiations. During the Sydney meeting, some members also asked to revise other issues such as investment protection. In the meantime, Tokyo didn’t … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Aug. 30 ─ One month after Japan raised tariffs on frozen beef imports from the United States, Agriculture Minister Ken Saito said it has so far had no adverse impact on the price of US frozen beef. U.S. meat exporters have criticized the so-called special safeguard (SSG) measure as an “artificial barrier” saying it unfairly distorts the Japanese beef market and punishes both U.S. producers and Japanese consumers. Japan imposed the SSG on beef imports from Aug. 01 for the first time in 14 years due to a surge in imports of frozen beef in recent months. It mainly affects the U.S. producers because they are the main suppliers … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Aug. 27 ─ Successful conclusion of the Japan and EU free trade agreement by the end of 2017 seems increasingly doubtful as the European Commission insists it will not agree to include a controversial investment protection provision in the accord. “It is worrying; we have major differences,” said a senior Japanese government official on condition of anonymity. The so-called investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) provision allows foreign investors or companies to sue governments over regulations if they allegedly harm their investments. Tokyo is eager to include the ISDS, which is also part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other trade agreements with Japan. Brussels wants the ISDS system to … Continue reading →

HONG KONG, Aug. 17 — Japan’s Agriculture Minister Ken Saito has met Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and her key officials, urging them to lift a ban on Japanese food imports imposed after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011. In the Aug. 16 meeting with the Hong Kong’s leader, Saito explained that extensive monitoring has ensured that exported foods are within radionuclide concentration limits. He asked Lam to ease and lift the import ban based on the scientific evidence Japan has. He also persuaded her to make a State visit to Japan. Hong Kong is the largest export market for Japanese seafood and agriculture products, making up … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Aug. 16 — Japan was likely to put at least two agricultural proposals on the table when 11 members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) were to meet in Australia on Aug. 28-30. The first is an indefinite scheme that scales back agricultural market access, and the second a change in the special safeguard (SSG) for beef imports, until the United States returns to the TPP, informed sources have said. The TPP deal was reached in October 2015 when 12 countries, including the U.S., resolved outstanding issues such as agricultural market access. But the administration of President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the TPP within a day of … Continue reading →