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Washington (AFP) – The Joe Biden administration announced an agreement with Tokyo on Thursday to increase the amount of beef the United States exports to Japan without automatically raising customs tariffs.
The new mechanism “will allow US exporters to meet growing demand for high-quality beef from Japan and reduce the likelihood that Japan will impose higher tariffs in the future,” according to an official statement.
The deal means it will now be possible for Japan to import more US beef, above a previously agreed threshold, before tariffs on the product rise from 25.8% to 38.5%, a senior US official told reporters. the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
The threshold was reached in March 2021, prompting Japan to raise the import tariff until the end of its fiscal year on April 30. This sped up discussions between the companies, the USTR official said.
The agreement will enter into force when the full text has been finalized.
The United States is the world’s top beef exporter, with more than $10 billion in sales in 2021, including $2.4 billion to Japan, according to USTR figures.
Tokyo and Washington signed a trade agreement still in force in October 2019.
© 2022 AFP
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