Ag included in Japan and U.S. trade talks

Sep 27, 2018

A revised trade agreement could be good for the swine and beef sectors

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The United States is ready to enter trade discussions with its fourth-largest ag purchaser.

“We’ve agreed today to start trade negotiations between the United States and Japan,” President Trump said yesterday during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Japan purchased US$11.9-billion worth of American ag products in 2017. Only Mexico, China and Canada imported more American farm goods that year, the USDA says.

Livestock producers may have the most to gain from an updated trade agreement.

The U.S. exported US$1.6-billion worth of pork to Japan last year.

Japan currently imposes tariffs of up to 20 percent on pork imports. These meat shipments are also subject to the country’s gate price system, which imposes a minimum import price on swine products.

Importers must pay the difference between the shipment’s value and the regulated minimum price.

The swine industry will advocate for reduced tariffs, said David Warner, a spokesman with the National Pork Producers Council.

“Japan is a very important market for U.S. pork producers,” he told Farms.com. “If we can get a good deal, this is going to help the industry immensely. I know that we’re going to push for the same deal the U.S. has gotten in other trade agreements, which is zero tariffs on pork coming in from the U.S.”

Beef farmers could also benefit from an updated trade agreement.

U.S. beef currently faces import duties of 38.5 percent to enter the Japanese market.

American negotiators need to try and have those tariffs reduced or eliminated, said Danni Beer, a beef producer from Keldron, S.D. and past president of the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association.

Danni Beer

“Any lowering of tariffs would help U.S. beef and U.S. farmers be more competitive in a global marketplace,” she told Farms.com. “We need our negotiators to help level the playing field for farmers right now.”

MicroStockHub/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.