Japan approves U.S. trade deal
According to the Financial Times, the Japanese government has approved a U.S. trade deal that will slash Japanese tariffs on U.S. beef just 10 weeks after it was first agreed and less than nine months since the start of negotiations.
According to the Financial Times, the Japanese government has approved a U.S. trade deal that will slash Japanese tariffs on U.S. beef just 10 weeks after it was first agreed and less than nine months since the start of negotiations. Japan’s upper house completed ratification of the deal, and with no ratification needed in the United States, the deal is set to come into effect on January 1.
Under the deal, Japan will cut its tariffs on U.S. beef and pork to the same levels as in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal from which U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew as one of his first acts as president. That will mean U.S. farmers are no longer disadvantaged relative to Canadian or Australian competitors. In return, Japan won cuts in U.S. tariffs on certain manufactured goods, such as machine tools and musical instruments.
Industry groups including the U.S. Grains Council responded positively to the news of the trade deal. “The U.S. Grains Council is pleased to hear the United States and Japan have made their trade agreement official, after the Japanese Diet ratified it earlier in the day and it is expected to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020,” said Ryan LeGrand, president and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), in a press release. “The agreement solidifies trade with our second-largest corn market, immediately reduces U.S. corn and sorghum imports for all purposes to a zero-tariff level, reduces the U.S. barley mark-up, and includes a staged tariff reduction for U.S. ethanol and U.S. corn, barley, and sorghum flour.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Jennifer Houston also issued a statement in response to Japan’s final approval of the trade deal, calling it a “tremendous victory and a great day for America’s beef producers and Japanese consumers.”
“Japan is the number one export market for U.S. beef, and for many years it has been a top priority of NCBA to remove tariff and non-tariff trade barriers that have prevented American beef producers from meeting Japanese consumer demand for safe and high-quality U.S. beef,” continued Houston. “This agreement levels the playing field and opens the door for U.S. beef producers to meet consumer demand in Japan.”
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