Takanori Okabe
The United States government notified Congress on Wednesday, April 24 (Thursday, April 25 Japan time), of its intent to allow Japan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. Wendy Cutler, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Affairs, indicated the same day at a meeting with a group of Japanese anti-TPP lawmakers visiting the U.S. that the U.S. government does not intend to accept exemption of certain products from tariff elimination. Japan is expected to join the TPP negotiations in July, but under the present circumstances, there is no guarantee at all that Japan can protect the key agricultural products which the Diet positioned as exceptions. Calls are likely to increase for the Japanese government to withdraw from the negotiations in line with the resolutions adopted by the agriculture, forestry and fisheries committees of both the upper and lower houses of the Diet.
The notification letter to Congress states that Japan “has confirmed that it will subject all goods to negotiation – both agricultural and manufactured goods – and will join the other TPP countries to achieve a high-standard and comprehensive agreement this year.” It also lists the details of the package of agreements the two governments reached under the bilateral preliminary talks, in which Japan made significant concessions in the automotive sector. The letter, however, does not mention the joint statement issued after a meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama in February, which recognizes that “both countries have bilateral trade sensitivities, such as certain agricultural products for Japan and certain manufactured products for the United States”.
Japan gained unanimous backing to join the TPP talks from the 11 current participants at the ministerial meeting held in Indonesia on Sunday, April 21, only to wait for the TPP countries to proceed with domestic processes to approve the decision. In the U.S., where Congress holds the trade negotiation power, a 90-day consultation period is necessary before it can approve of Japan’s entry, which means Japan will be able to join the TPP in late July at the earliest.
According to the Japanese anti-TPP lawmakers who met Cutler after USTR’s notification to Congress, she explained to them that the specific dates were set for the planned July round of TPP talks.
Cutler reportedly touched on the issue of tariff elimination of key products, saying that exempting them from tariff elimination is not the only answer. She stated as alternatives phased reduction of tariffs over a long period of time or safeguards –- emergency import restriction –, in an apparent attempt to emphasize the TPP’s principles that all goods are subject to removal of tariffs.
In response to former agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister Masahiko Yamada’s question of whether there will be any exceptions, Cutler said that the participating countries have promised to work on achieving a comprehensive and high-standard agreement.
The resolutions adopted earlier this month by the agriculture, forestry and fisheries committees of the upper and lower houses call on the government to assert that tariffs on key agricultural products including rice, wheat, beef, pork, dairy products and sugar should be exempted from elimination or be separately renegotiated, and to join the talks with determination that it will withdraw from the TPP negotiations if the key five products are not to be treated as exceptions. The committee on TPP in the Liberal Democratic Party’s Headquarters for Regional Diplomatic and Economic Partnership also adopted a similar resolution in March.
(April 26, 2013)