A trade agreement between the European Union and Japan will increase competition for the United States. Japan’s conclusion of the trade agreement, and efforts to complete the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, will increase competition in Japan for U.S. oilseed and vegetable products, according to the Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service. The two agreements contain tariff concessions for a range of oilseeds and other products that, with current trade rules, pose a disadvantage for U.S. products.
The Hagstrom Report points out that the Japan-EU agreement could enter into force as early as 2019, while CPTPP member states are undertaking domestic procedures to ratify the agreement. Last year, Japan imported $3 billion worth of oilseeds, 37 percent coming from the United States, worth $1.15 billion. Japan also imported $1.5 billion in vegetable oil and animal fat products, of which 3.2 percent, or approximately $48 million were from the United States.
Source: NAFB News Service