The Japanese government has started to consider reducing or removing tariffs on some items that fall under five key farm product categories — rice, wheat, beef and pork, dairy products and sugar — in ongoing negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact.
The government will try to secure an agreement in the free trade talks by expanding imports of farm products in its so-called “sacred areas” from TPP partners. But Japan is faced with high-level demands from its counterparts as many countries taking part in the TPP negotiations have been pressing Japan to abolish tariffs on all products including rice. Japan will explore the possibility of reaching a compromise with other countries during talks among chief TPP negotiators due to open in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Nov. 19. Nevertheless, Japan is expected to go defensive in the face of a hardline stance taken by the United States and other countries.
In past negotiations, the United States urged Japan to eliminate tariffs on all products except rice. Most other negotiating countries, including Singapore and New Zealand, demanded Japan scrap tariffs on all products including rice. But Japan rejected both moves.
via Mainichi
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
Alfonso Esparza
trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Latest posts by Alfonso Esparza (see all)
- Market Rally Still Going Low Holiday Volumes Awaiting Start of 2020 - 27 December 2019
- Market Awaits China Retaliation on Trade - 29 November 2019
- Alibaba to Close Order Book Ahead of Huge IPO - 18 November 2019