Masaru Yamada
The Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement, which was concluded in principle on Monday, April 7, includes clauses which allow the two nations to revise the agreement if Japan decides to offer lower tariffs on agricultural products from other countries such as the United States, it was learned Thursday, April 24.
The existence of such clauses indicates the possibility that if Japan makes big compromises in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations with the U.S., Australia will urge Japan to revise the EPA to further lower tariffs.
According to government officials of the two countries, the EPA “does not include specific most-favored-nation provisions on goods.” However, the agreement say there “are review clauses that apply to some agricultural products which allow market access to be reviewed at certain times after entry into force, as well as if Japan provides better treatment to other countries.”
Such review clauses have not been disclosed so far.
The officials refused to specify which agricultural products are subject to revision, but they are highly likely to include beef, as the two countries held last-minute negotiations on how much cuts should be made to Japan’s tariffs on Australian beef. As for the timing of the revision, the two nations are likely to have agreed on five years after the agreement goes into effect.
Japan has also been negotiating with the U.S. on a ministerial level regarding market liberalization of agricultural products including beef, prior to the summit meeting held on Thursday, April 24. The Japanese government has maintained that it will negotiate with the U.S. using the agreement made with Australia as a maximum compromise allowable on tariff reductions, but the fact that the Japan-Australia EPA can be revised means it cannot function as an upper limit for market liberalization.
(April 25, 2014)