@article{Muhammad:302910,
      recid = {302910},
      author = {Muhammad, Andrew and Griffith, Andrew P.},
      title = {Why a Trade Agreement With Japan Is Needed for U.S. Beef  Exports},
      address = {2018-06-01},
      number = {2325-2020-412},
      series = {W 656},
      pages = {10},
      month = {Jun},
      year = {2018},
      abstract = {The signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement  for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in March 2018 could  disadvantage U.S. beef in Japan. Beef-exporting countries  party to the agreement (e.g., Australia, New Zealand,  Mexico and Canada) will see an immediate reduction and  phase- down of tariffs from their current levels of 38.5  percent (muscle cuts) and 50 percent (select offal  products) to 9 percent over a 15-year period. For some  offal products, tariffs will be phased out completely (New  Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2018). On the other  hand, U.S. beef will continue to face tariffs of 38.5  percent to 50 percent, as well as a global safeguard tariff  of 50 percent when imports exceed a specified level  (Muhammad et al., 2016). Although Australia and Mexico have  existing agreements with Japan, the proposed CPTPP tariff  reductions are beyond those negotiated in prior agreements.  The U.S. has free trade agreements with several CPTPP  countries, but a major exception is Japan, which is the  leading market for U.S. beef exports. In 2017, U.S. beef  exports totaled $7.3 billion; Japan accounted for more than  25 percent of this total ($1.9 billion) (USDA, Foreign  Agricultural Service, 2018). Understandably, the tariff  advantage for a major competitor like Australia and smaller  competitors like Canada, New Zealand and Mexico has raised  concerns in the U.S. beef industry about its future in  Japan. Japanese beef imports are largely split between the  U.S. and Australia. While beef imports from other CPTPP  countries are smaller by comparison, the proposed tariff  reductions could make these countries more important  players. For instance, the Government of Canada (2018)  projects that Canadian beef exports to Japan will increase  by 95 percent with full implementation of the CPTPP. The  overall goal of this report is to examine how CPTPP tariff  reductions in Japan could impact the competitiveness of  U.S. beef, vis-à-vis Australian beef and beef from other  CPTPP countries. While there is some evidence that Japanese  consumers see U.S. and Australian beef as somewhat  different (e.g., grain-fed versus grass-fed), prior  research suggests that price competition is still important  and that tariffs could affect the competitiveness of  exporting countries (Muhammad et al., 2018). Based on  recently published research on Japanese beef imports, we  present findings of how tariff reductions for Australia and  other CPTPP countries could impact U.S. beef in Japan. The  recovery of U.S. beef in Japan since the bovine spongiform  encephalopathy (BSE) ban was lifted in 2006 has been  notable. However, these gains and the current status of  U.S. beef in Japan could be in jeopardy if the U.S. does  not obtain market access on par with CPTPP countries.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/302910},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.302910},
}