09.25.19

Hoeven: Administration Finalizes Agreement with Japan to Lift Tariffs on $7.2 Billion of U.S. Agricultural Products

Agreement Will Go into Effect When Ratified by Japanese Legislature, Will Put U.S. Producers on Equal Footing with Trans-Pacific Partnership Nations

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Agriculture Committee, today issued the following statement after the administration finalized a trade agreement with Japan to lower or eliminate tariffs on $7.2 billion of U.S. agricultural products. This includes fresh and frozen beef and pork, wheat, frozen potatoes, dairy products and ethanol. Further, Japan’s imports of U.S. wheat and barley, which were valued at more than $800 million in 2018, will benefit from a reduced mark-up.

“We appreciate the administration’s work to finalize this agreement with Japan and open up its markets to more than $7 billion in U.S. agriculture exports,” Hoeven said. “This access is exactly what we’ve been working with the administration to secure, and we will continue advancing efforts to get better trade deals. This includes the USMCA, which has the votes in the Senate, but it needs to start in the House. Putting these agreements in place will not only bolster our farm economy, they will put increased pressure on China to reach an agreement.”

The agreement will go into effect when ratified by Japan’s legislature, and once it is implemented, more than 90 percent of U.S. agricultural exports to the nation will be either duty free or receive preferential tariff access. This will put U.S. producers on equal footing with the nations that entered into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

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