Category Archives: Trade Talks

【Editorial】 Let us cooperate globally to call for disclosure of TPP draft text (Feb. 18, 2014)

  Negotiations under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks will be at a crucial stage this week and next week. The negotiations were carried out in strict confidentiality throughout the talks, giving no room for the public to reflect their voices. It is a matter of course for the parliaments and the public of the TPP member countries to call for disclosure of the draft of the TPP agreement. We have also been repeatedly urging the Japanese government to disclose information on the negotiations. Disclosure of the draft agreement is inevitable to check whether the resolutions made by the Diet’s committees are met and to provide a basis for public debate … Continue reading

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【News】 Young farmers call for protection of key agricultural products in TPP (Feb. 14, 2014)

  The national youth organization under the Japan Agricultural Cooperative group held a meeting in Tokyo on Thursday, Feb. 13, and agreed on the need to further reflect young farmers’ voices in agricultural policies. They stressed the importance of young farmers coming up with their own solutions to challenges they face and implement them in the JA group’s policies and projects. Some 1,000 participants of the meeting also held a rally in Tokyo the same day, urging the government to follow the resolutions adopted by the Diet’s agricultural committees and protect key agricultural products such as rice, beef and sugar from tariff elimination in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. With … Continue reading

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【Feature】Questions and answers on the latest news – Trade Promotion Authority, TPA (Feb. 12, 2014)

  Top bipartisan leaders from both the Senate and the House of Representatives of United States Congress jointly introduced the trade promotion authority (TPA) bill last month. The legislation is seen as crucial for final passage of pending negotiations, most notably the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. Here are some tips regarding the bill. Q. What is TPA? Does it have anything to do with the TPP talks? A. TPA – previously known as the fast track negotiating authority – makes it easier for the president of the United States to negotiate international trade agreements. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress authority over trade negotiations with foreign governments. Therefore, without TPA, Congress … Continue reading

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【News】 Farmers from Fukuoka Prefecture ask agriculture minister to protect key agricultural products (Feb. 12, 2014)

  Political entity of farmers in Fukuoka Prefecture asked agriculture minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Fukuoka on Tuesday, Feb. 11, to protect key agricultural products, including rice, wheat and dairy products, from tariff elimination in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. The TPP member countries are scheduled to hold a ministerial meeting starting on Saturday, Feb. 22, and the farmers urged that the government follow the resolutions adopted by the agricultural committees of the upper and lower houses of the Diet. 10 executives of agricultural groups invited Hayashi to their meeting to make requests regarding the TPP negotiations and the government’s new agricultural policies. Masaji Matsuyama, an upper house lawmaker from Fukuoka, … Continue reading

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【Series】Agricultural policies – Interviews with political parties: Part 7 Tomoko Kami, director of the Japanese Communist Party’s department for farmers and fishermen (Feb. 4, 2014)

  Q. How will the party cope with issues related to agricultural reform? A. We have to stop Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration which is going out of control also in terms of agricultural policies. Abe has been ignoring the voices of the people in the agricultural sector and rural communities, and adopting policies which strongly reflect the voices of business circles, such as joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks and revising the rice production adjustment system. Especially concerning the TPP talks, the government is putting top priority on concluding the talks as soon as possible, without disclosing any significant information to the Japanese people. Tariff elimination without exception was … Continue reading

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