Japan Trade and U.S. Red Meat Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. The 2020 U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement that came during President Trump’s first term in office gave America’s red meat exporters a better chance to compete with other countries when trying to access the Japanese market.
But prior to that, U.S. Meat Export Federation president and CEO, Dan Halstrom says things weren’t nearly as good …
HALSTROM … “One needs to remember, as it relates to Japan, that in 2020 in Trump Administration 1, the Japan-U.S. Ag Agreement was announced and that was really key because we were not on a level playing field at that time with our global competitors.”
Halstrom says that deal was the difference maker …
HALSTROM … “And that phase 1 agreement in 2020 put us all on a level playing field even though our duties are higher than some other countries. You know, currently we’re at 21.6% on U.S. beef into Japan, but it got us on a level playing field and the fact that we got this deal done, at least at the minimum, maintains that level playing field.”
And, Halstrom says by comparison …
HALSTROM … “I think that’s really important to remember because it wasn’t that long ago when we were at a sever disadvantage tariff-wise.”
Most U.S. pork is imported into Japan with no tariff, but Japan’s beef tariff is currently the highest of any major market at 21.6%, but that’s level with other suppliers and scheduled to drop to 9% by 2033.
