Japan's Tariff on U.S. beef in 1993 with the beginning of GATT was 50%. It was to be ratcheted down 6% per year for 6 years (a total of a 36% reduction) to a tariff of 32%. We were told by three successive United States Trade Representatives, Clayton Yeutter, Carla Hills and Mickey Kantor, and the head of USDA-FAS and lead agricultural trade negotiator, Rich Schroeter, that this would only lead to expanded and profitable trade for U.S. producers and to the next round of the GATT and lower tariffs yet. We were not told that sudden disturbances in quantity of beef trade could repeatedly reset the formula levels back to determine "snap back" in tariffs 12 years later.
The point of this isn't in the possibly confusing detail of the operation of tariffs as applied. The point of this is that trade negotiations don't stick and that countries that pass themselves off as honest in trade negotiations are not. Japan and other nations stick up for their domestic producers while the U.S. wishes to kill ours off.
We are a nation of economic masochists.
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JPN dropping beef tariff
Japan to forgo safeguard step on beef imports
People's Daily Online
July 28, 2005
China
Japan is likely to forgo an expected safeguard step on beef imports in August, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Thursday.
Some had expected Japan would impose safeguard import curbs on beef next month for the first time in two years to protect domestic farmers and related businesses due to surging beef imports in April and May.
But the trade data of the ministry showed that year-on-year growth of beef imports in the April-June quarter fell below 17 percent, which is the threshold for the emergency import restrictions to take effect.
Japan was set to automatically raise its tariff by 11.5 percentage points from 38.5 percent to 50 percent on Aug. 1 under a 1993 World Trade Organization safeguard, if there was a year-on- year increase in beef imports over the threshold in the three- month period on a cumulative quarterly basis.
Smaller-than-expected imports in the April-June quarter resulted from importers delaying customs clearance of beef imports by temporarily storing them in bond to register for July, the ministry said.
Japan's beef imports sharply dropped due to the nation's import ban on US beef following the discovery of mad cow disease in the United State s in late December 2003.
Despite the continued import ban on American beef, total beef imports have recently rebounded, chiefly from Australia, resulting in a jump in imports of fresh, chilled and frozen beef in April and May.
In the April-June quarter, the year-on-year increase of fresh and chilled beef imports was 13 percent and that of frozen beef imports was 9 percent, according to the data.
The data also indicated that Japan will forgo a safeguard import curb on pork for the first time in five years as the imports fell short of a threshold for the emergency step.
Source: Xinhua
The point of this isn't in the possibly confusing detail of the operation of tariffs as applied. The point of this is that trade negotiations don't stick and that countries that pass themselves off as honest in trade negotiations are not. Japan and other nations stick up for their domestic producers while the U.S. wishes to kill ours off.
We are a nation of economic masochists.
/
_____________________________________
JPN dropping beef tariff
Japan to forgo safeguard step on beef imports
People's Daily Online
July 28, 2005
China
Japan is likely to forgo an expected safeguard step on beef imports in August, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Thursday.
Some had expected Japan would impose safeguard import curbs on beef next month for the first time in two years to protect domestic farmers and related businesses due to surging beef imports in April and May.
But the trade data of the ministry showed that year-on-year growth of beef imports in the April-June quarter fell below 17 percent, which is the threshold for the emergency import restrictions to take effect.
Japan was set to automatically raise its tariff by 11.5 percentage points from 38.5 percent to 50 percent on Aug. 1 under a 1993 World Trade Organization safeguard, if there was a year-on- year increase in beef imports over the threshold in the three- month period on a cumulative quarterly basis.
Smaller-than-expected imports in the April-June quarter resulted from importers delaying customs clearance of beef imports by temporarily storing them in bond to register for July, the ministry said.
Japan's beef imports sharply dropped due to the nation's import ban on US beef following the discovery of mad cow disease in the United State s in late December 2003.
Despite the continued import ban on American beef, total beef imports have recently rebounded, chiefly from Australia, resulting in a jump in imports of fresh, chilled and frozen beef in April and May.
In the April-June quarter, the year-on-year increase of fresh and chilled beef imports was 13 percent and that of frozen beef imports was 9 percent, according to the data.
The data also indicated that Japan will forgo a safeguard import curb on pork for the first time in five years as the imports fell short of a threshold for the emergency step.
Source: Xinhua
