Category Archives: Trade Talks

TOKYO, Jan. 1 – The US-Japan trade agreement entered into effect on January 1, 2020. Immediately, Japan lowered tariffs on US products, including beef and pork, to the level equivalent to the rates under the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). For Japan, the bilateral pact is the third significant trade agreement that follows the TPP and the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). In the fiscal year 2018, the total value of agricultural imports from the member countries of the three trade agreements to Japan exceeded 99% of the total. With the new pact, however, the country is granting its competitors greater access to its agricultural market than … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 30 – The Japanese government released a result of its provisional calculation of impacts of two trade agreements on agricultural, forestry and fishery products. The report on October 29 showed possible influence of the U.S.-Japan bilateral agreement and the agreement between members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the U.S., known as TPP-11. The figure covers 33 product items whose tariff rates are over 10% and domestic production value is over 1 billion yen. The report said Japan can lose 120 to 200 billion yen in domestic production in total. The government will take measures to offset the impact on the income and production volume of Japanese farmers … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 20 – Brazil intends to expand exports to Japan, using the consumption tax hike in Japan as a boost. The strengths of the largest exporter of chicken meat to Japan are affordable prices and stable supply. In an interview with the Japan Agricultural News, Eduardo Saboia. Ambassador of Brazil, explained how the country is going to deal with the challenge while other exporters, including trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) member countries, try to slash the tariff rates via trade agreements with Japan.   Focus on chicken export to Japan Brazil is already a stable source of chicken meat for Japanese consumers, according to Saboia. “Brazilian chicken accounts for 80% of … Continue reading →

TOKYO, June 26 – As part of its policy to boost exports of farm produce, the government is authorizing four facilities each this year that can export beef to the United States and Europe respectively. The government also hopes to sign an animal health quarantine agreement with China by the end of this year to lift a ban on China’s imports of Japanese beef. It has been difficult for beef processing facilities to be authorized to export to the U.S. and Europe because of the need to meet the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) requirements. In the past, it sometimes took more than two years for a newly … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 30 – The opposition parties urged the government on May 29 to reaffirm its position concerning bilateral trade talks with the United States, after U.S. President Donald Trump said during his visit to Tokyo that he is not bound by anything. A joint statement issued by the two nations in September says that regarding Japan’s farm produce, “outcomes related to market access as reflected in Japan’s previous economic partnership agreements constitute the maximum level,” indicating that Japan will not open its markets beyond the level agreed upon under the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal. In a news conference in Tokyo on May 27, however, Trump said: “I have nothing to … Continue reading →