Halstrom Comments on Japan Trade and Investment Agreement
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Japan’s lead tariff negotiator was in Washington, D.C. this past week seeking to finalize details of the U.S.-Japan Trade and Investment Agreement that was recently announced by the White House. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom was in Tokyo when the agreement was announced and notes a sense of relief in the number two value market for U.S. pork and beef exports.
U.S. red meat exports to Japan were put on a level playing field with other competing nations under a comprehensive Japan trade agreement during the first Trump administration. Most pork is imported at zero tariff. While the beef tariff is currently the highest of any major import market at 21.6%, it is level with other suppliers and is scheduled to phase to 9% by 2033.
Under the recently announced trade agreement the tariff rate on imports from Japan will be set at 15% while Japan is set to make $8 billion in purchases of U.S. goods including corn, soybeans, fertilizer, bioethanol and sustainable aviation fuel.