Focusing on Negotiation over Non-tariff Barriers

Shigeru Ishiba administration is building strategy for next tariff negotiation between the teams of Japan and the United States later this month. As Japan team accumulates internal meeting, it eventually becomes obvious what is going to be the agenda between those two governments. They will be non-tariff barriers on cars and agricultural products, defense of Japan and currency. 

As soon as he returned from Washington, D.C. to Tokyo, the top negotiator on Japan side, Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization Ryosei Akazawa, had meetings with Ishiba on Friday and Saturday to discuss how to deal with the next meeting with the U.S. “We double-checked what exactly President Trump had said in the meeting,” said Akazawa to the press. Akazawa reported to Ishiba that the U.S. side put priorities on some issues.

 

It was reported that Trump complained to Akazawa in the meeting that no American cars are running in Japan. It was obvious that Trump was frustrated with Japan not importing American cars very much. The U.S. government is skeptical about non-tariff barriers on U.S. cars in Japan as a factor that disappoints American car manufacturers to export their products to Japan.

 

U.S. Trade Representatives listed up various non-tariff barriers of Japan in 2024 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, which was issued last month. It describes that non-tariff barriers on U.S. automotives include “non-acceptance of U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards certification as providing equivalent level of protection as the Japanese vehicle safety standards.” 

 

Japan is considering deregulation on U.S. cars. While Japan has a common standard with European countries, it imposes certificate of conformity on U.S. cars, even though they have passed U.S. tests. That causes additional time and cost for U.S. carmakers to export their cars to Japan. Considering Trump’s interest in U.S. cars, Japanese officials discuss whether they can have common standard with the U.S.

 

The U.S.T.R. report also argues trade barriers in agriculture are found in Japan. Non-tariff barriers on rice, wheat and pork, or safety regulations on beef, potatoes, apple and other fruits. Japanese government considers more import of rice from the U.S., in the time of shortage and rising price of rice. It also discusses further import of soybean from the U.S., knowing that U.S. soybean would not going much to China in trade war over tariffs.

 

Trump also requested Japan’s financial expenditure for defense of Japan with U.S. Japanese government interpreted it as a demand of increasing host nation support for U.S. Forces in Japan. Although Japan has not showed willingness to increase the budget, it is possible for it to discuss it in the context of scheduled revision for FY2026.

 

Akazawa clearly denied that there was no conversation with Trump and the secretaries over currency. It is likely that the issue will be discussed between Minister of Finance, Katsunobu Kato, and U.S. Secretary of Treasury, Scott Bessent, taking opportunity of meeting of International Monetary Fund at Washington, D.C. on April 23rd and 24th. Japan is expected to explain that it has not been manipulating currency rate. It is focused whether the U.S. links currency with tariff policy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amendment of Local Autonomy Law

The House of Representatives started discussion on revision of the Local Autonomy Law, which would vest the national government a power to instruct local government in an emergency. It may change the relationship between the national and local government, which has been recognized as equal. The opposition parties oppose the amendment, arguing that it would give the national government an excessive power.   With the Meiji Restoration, the national government abolished the feudal system, introducing modern governance. However, its autonomy was not sufficient. The governor of each prefecture was appointed by the national government. The local governments subordinated to the national government. It was as late as 2000 when  the Comprehensive Decentralization Law  was enacted and the relationship between the national and local government was defined as equal.   The national government found inconvenience in the relationship between the national and local government, when ...
Read more

Request for Final Nuclear Disposal Site

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry requested Genkai Town, Saga, to accept “literature survey” for building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste. Genkai is going to answer within this month. If it accepts, it will be the third place to accept that survey, following two places in Hokkaido. Main reason to accept the survey is supposed to be subsidy from the national government.   Japan has no final disposal site. Among all 54 reactors in 17 nuclear power generation plant, 12 reactors of 6 plants are operating. The rest of them are not in operation, some of which are determined to be decommissioned. Used nuclear fuels are stocked in each plant, 　 or have sent to a reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori. There are two plans to stock nuclear wastes in the intermediate facility for disposal, one is already built and another is still in negotiation.   Nuclear Fuel Final Disposal Act in 2000 determines to bury nuclear waste in the underground. Literature survey, ...
Read more

Death Penalty Demanded on Criminal of Arson

On the historically brutal case of arson, the public prosecutors demanded an ultimate penalty to the offender. In the trial on the arson and murder in Kyoto Animation in 2019, the prosecutors requested death penalty on the defendant, Shinji Aoba. The lawyers of Aoba argued that the court should avoid sentencing death penalty. The judgement will be passed next January. Aoba was indicted as putting fire after pouring gasoline in the building of Kyoto Animation (Kyoani), a studio producing animation works, and killed 36 staffs and injured 32 on July 18 th , 2019. In the trial, Aoba argued that he could not tolerate Kyoani, because it had stolen his novel story in its works. Aoba later apologized to the victim’s families that he had done too much and regretted it.   In the closing argument in Kyoto Regional Court, the prosecutors demanded death penalty for Aoba, because the number of victims were extremely high in the history of criminal trials in Japan. “It is hard to describe about h...
Read more