Category Archives: Trade Talks

[By Katsuto Uchihashi, economic critic] With less than three months before the United States presidential election, Republican nominee Donald Trump still has not stopped making outrageous remarks. When Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election, he was seen only as a minor candidate. However, it was his wild, populist messages that has created a fierce political sensation and propelled his candidacy from the fringes of the race to the summit of the Republican nomination leaderboard. His roars, which made people excited, can be symbolized by his famous remark: “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.” … Continue reading →

[By Masaru Yamada, The Japan Agricultural News Special Senior Writer] Several Chinese coast guard ships have entered Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands since last week, and Japan’s Foreign Ministry has lodged protests with the Chinese government by summoning Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua. In diplomatic relations, whenever some party makes a false argument or a wrong move, the basic rule is to put forth a counterargument and claim they are factually inaccurate. If it was between individuals, it might be alright to act like an adult and remain silent, but that shouldn’t be the case when it comes to business or diplomacy. If you don’t make counterarguments … Continue reading →

[By Masaru Yamada, The Japan Agricultural News Senior Special Writer] The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district is haunted. Normally you can’t see the ghost, but it is witnessed once in a while. Recently, it showed itself amid a confusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade negotiations. The Japanese government imports 767,000 tons of rice every year under the minimum access scheme agreed upon in the negotiations for the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade concluded in the end of 1993. The Japanese and United States governments were engaged in fierce under-the-table negotiations at that time on the degree of Japan’s rice market … Continue reading →

[By Masaru Yamada, The Japan Agricultural News Senior Special Writer] The rice industry in the United States is not satisfied with the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. While they won liberalization of the Japanese rice market through the agreement, U.S. rice farmers apparently think the deal also means there is a possibility of them losing the Mexican market, their biggest customer. To make things more complicated, the industry is not single-minded regarding the TPP agreement. To understand their situation, we should be aware that the U.S. rice industry is made up of two completely different regions. One is the southern part of the country which cultivates 80 percent of rice grown in … Continue reading →