Tag Archives: News

  The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee of the Upper House adopted a resolution by a majority Thursday, April 18, approving the Japanese government’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. The resolution calls on the government to negotiate for exceptions – especially in the key areas of rice, wheat, beef, pork, dairy products and sugar – from tariff eliminations in the TPP discussions. It also asks the government to walk away from the negotiating table if it fails to persuade other TPP members to allow existing tariffs on the key products. The Lower House Committee for the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also decided the same day to adopt a … Continue reading →

  Japan emphasizes that the agreement recognized the agricultural products are especially sensitive, while the U.S. underscores the point that all goods will be subject to negotiation Some differences are found in Japan and the United States’ outline of the agreement statement on preparatory negotiations over Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks announced Friday, April 12, it was learned.  The different points include: 1.The Japanese version outline of the agreement said that the two countries confirmed certain farm products were “sensitive” for Japan, while the U.S. version did not mention the point. 2. The U.S. outline noted that Japan agreed to negotiate on all items, which is not mentioned … Continue reading →

        The Japanese government announced Friday, April 12, that it has reached agreement with the United States government on preliminary negotiations, paving the way to join talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. As the U.S. was the biggest obstacle for Japan in joining the trade liberalization talks, all the other TPP participating countries are highly likely to approve Japan’s participation. On the other hand, in an effort to join the talks in haste, Japan made an apparent concession in such areas as automobiles. This means Japan has given away most of the cards before engaging in   the TPP negotiations, and is likely to face a difficult phase in … Continue reading →

  Imports of the agricultural, forestry and fishery products which the Liberal Democratic Party wants to protect as the key areas for Japan’s national interests are coming mostly from the TPP participants such as the United States and Australia it was learned from the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry’s data. As for wheat, beef and pork, almost all of the imports are from the TPP member countries. If Asian countries negotiating for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and European Union member countries negotiating for the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) are included, the same is true for imports of other products such as rice. If Japan participates in the TPP … Continue reading →