Pork Council pushes for trade deal without Japan
Alongside the International Dairy Foods Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers, the USA Rice Federation and the US Wheat Association, the NPPC said that unless Japan agreed to provide significant market access for the United States, then president Barack Obama’s administration should leave Japan out of the end discussions.
For the NPPC, significant access equates to the elimination of Japan’s gate price system and all tariffs for US pork.
It added that according to reports from the recent TPP trade ministerial meeting in Singapore, Akira Amari, minister for the economy in Japan, said his country would not abolish tariffs in agricultural sectors it considered "sacred", which includes pork and beef.
Doctor Howard Hill, president NPPC, said: "The US pork industry is very disappointed that Japan continues to refuse to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade.
"A country cannot shield its primary agricultural products from competition and still claim to be committed to a high-standard agreement that liberalises essentially all goods."
He added that allowing Japan to exempt products from going to a zero tariff, and preserving the gate price on pork "sets a horrible precedent".
"Other TPP countries may demand similar treatment, which could jeopardise the entire agreement, and that precedent would make it much harder to obtain a good outcome for pork and other agricultural products in future trade deals."
The TPP talks include: the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which account for nearly 40% of global GDP.
