U.S. not briefed on Japan's plan to consider trade pact: lawmaker+

TOKYO, Oct. 19 Kyodo -
A senior official of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative had not been
briefed by the Japanese government on Tokyo's plan to consider joining the
Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, a Japanese lawmaker said Tuesday.
The delay in briefing the U.S. government on the plan, expressed by Prime
Minister Naoto Kan in his policy speech on Oct. 1, apparently reflects
difficulties coordinating stances within the Japanese government on the
subject.
Michael Beeman, an acting assistant U.S. Trade Representative, told Itsunori
Onodera, a Liberal Democratic Party member in the House of Representatives, in
talks in Washington last Friday that Tokyo had not contacted him regarding
whether it would consider joining the partnership, Onodera said.
The U.S. official also raised questions about the Kan government's stance on
trade, noting that consultations with the United States on free trade
agreements had not progressed, the lawmaker added.
The TPP agreement, originally concluded by Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and
Singapore, which took effect in 2006, requires in principle that members
eliminate all tariffs to zero. Negotiations to expand it are under way with
five other countries, including major agricultural exporters such as Australia
and the United States.
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said at a press conference later in the day that
senior vice ministers of government ministries have been coordinating their
positions on whether to join the TPP, but have yet to reach a common position.
''We will not contact other countries before solidifying our position,'' he said.
In his policy speech, Kan said he aims to build a ''Free Trade Area of the
Asia-Pacific,'' saying the Japanese government will ''look into participating''
in negotiations for the TPP agreement.
Despite Kan's remarks, opposition remains strong within the government,
particularly in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, because
joining the framework is likely to require Japan to liberalize its markets for
agricultural products.
''Domestic coordination has made little progress,'' a Cabinet Secretariat
source said.
Farmers turned up the heat on the idea of joining the TPP, with the Japan
Agricultural Cooperative group adopting a resolution Tuesday that said the move
will ''destroy'' Japan's agriculture.
''TPP aims to completely liberalize trade, without allowing any exemption on
the elimination of tariffs...if we sign a TPP that does not allow an exemption,
Japan's agriculture will be completely destroyed,'' it said.
The resolution also expressed wariness over the expected influx of cheaper
agricultural products.
It was submitted by Mamoru Moteki, head of the Central Union of Agricultural
Cooperatives, the umbrella body of farm cooperatives, to Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries Minister Michihiko Kano, who told Moteki he will examine the
document and decide what to do.
Maehara, however, defied domestic opposition to Japan's participation in the
TPP, as he underlined the need for Tokyo to ''further open up its market'' to
secure economic gains through trade.
Speaking at a symposium in Tokyo, Maehara pointed out that the industry
including farming and fishing accounts for about only 1.5 percent of Japan's
overall gross domestic product and that the average age of Japanese farmers is
above 65 years old.
''To save the 1.5 percent, I suspect most of the remaining 98.5 percent is
sacrificed,'' Maehara said. ''In such circumstances, I think it's high time for
Japan to seriously consider opening up its market. Otherwise, Japan will become
less and less competitive.''
However, Maehara said Japan should implement policies to provide considerable
financial support to the agricultural sector before further freeing up the farm
trade. He said South Korea, a major farm importer, has taken such steps before
concluding free trade agreements with the United States and European Union.
A government official told a meeting of ruling party lawmakers that joining the
TPP is expected to have an effect of pushing up about 0.48-0.65 percent point
to Japan's gross domestic product growth in real terms, or about 2.3-3.3
trillion yen.
==Kyodo
2010-10-19 21:09:45


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