Signed in September, Japan's Diet finally passed the trade deal between the U.S and Japan. (Image via World Politics Review)

Diet approves the U.S - Japan trade deal

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Politics & Economic
News Flash Japan
Dec 05, 2019
1915
After passing Japan’s Lower House last month, on Wednesday, Japan’s National Diet, or “The Diet”, approved the trade deal taken in September between the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, and the President of the United States (U.S), Donald Trump. The deal will run into effect starting in January 2020.

The trade deal allows Japan to import more U.S beef; in exchange, the U.S is allowed to import more Japanese agricultural products. Listed in the deal, Japan is going to remove the US$7.2 billion tariff on the U.S farm products, including duty reduction for its beef from 38.5 percent to 9 percent gradually.

While the deal means that Tokyo is trying to avoid getting on the U.S nerves by agreeing to Trump’s demand, the Trump administration is trying to alleviate the U.S trade deficit with Japan. Moreover, to appease the concern of the U.S farmers after the country decided to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) regional free trade pact.

With the deal, pork and cheese goods from the U.S will get greater market access, putting the country on par with other TPP members.

Meanwhile, the U.S will remove the duties on Japanese industrial goods. However, the 2.5 percent tariff on Japanese automobiles still remains. Therefore, some Japanese critics and opposition said that the trade deal is on the U.S favor, contradicting what Abe referred to as a “win-win” solution.

The opposition also criticized Abe’s dubious prediction that the trade deal would crank Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) by ¥4 trillion, or 0.8 percent because the prediction was a “false hope” that the U.S would remove the automobiles tariff.

Source: https://bit.ly/2s071s9

Politics , Economy , Export-Import , Products , Food , Industry , Farm , Trade , Deal , U.S , Japan , Shinzo-Abe , Donald-Trump