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U.S. exports of pork and pork products to Japan face a competitive disadvantage. Major U.S. competitors in the Japanese market, including Australia, Canada, and the EU receive preferential market access treatment under CP-TPP and the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement. The U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement is necessary for U.S. exports of pork and pork products to remain competitive.
On October 7, 2019, USTR Robert Lighthizer and Ambassador of Japan to the United States Shinsuke J. Sugiyama signed the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement and U.S.-Japan Digital Trade Agreement, and on October 16, 2018, USTR officially notified Congress that the Trump Administration intended to start negotiations following the completion of necessary domestic procedures.
The deal President Trump is delivering will provide our farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses with market access for high quality U.S. food and agricultural products to 127 million Japanese consumers.
In 2018, the United States exported $1.6 billion of pork and pork products to Japan. Japan is the United States’ largest export market for pork, based on value. Under this agreement, the United States will obtain market access conditions equal to the CP-TPP agreement. Tariffs on muscle cuts will be eliminated over 9 years, and tariffs on processed pork products, such as the 20 percent tariff on ground seasoned pork, will be phased down to zero in Year 5. Certain fresh and frozen pork products will continue to be subject to Japan’s gate price mechanism, but the maximum gate price duty will decline from 482 yen to 50 yen per kilogram by Year 9. This development could open up Japan's lucrative market for less expensive pork cuts to U.S. exporters.
Japan’s WTO pork safeguard will no longer be applicable to U.S. pork. Instead, Japan will create a new transitional safeguard mechanism, similar to the one in CP-TPP, for fresh, chilled and frozen pork.
October 2019 - 333 publication with information from USTR
