The United States and Japan have reached an agreement that will allow American farmers and ranchers to meet Japan’s growing demand for U.S. beef and lowers the chances of Japan imposing higher tariffs in future, U.S. officials said.
The agreement includes a new mechanism that requires three separate conditions to be reached — instead of only one — for Japan to invoke a “safeguard trigger” and impose higher duties on U.S. beef for 30 days.
“This agreement is a great win for our two countries that ensures American farmers and ranchers can continue to meet Japan’s growing demand for high-quality U.S. beef,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.
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The agreement, reached after a year of consultations between the two countries, will come into force once the text is finalized and each country has completed a few remaining steps, a senior U.S. official said.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack welcomed the agreement and said it would allow for greater market-based growth in U.S. beef exports to Japan.
In 2021 the United States was the world’s top beef exporter, with global sales of beef and beef products valued at more than US$10 billion, U.S. data shows.
