Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Nogami said at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting that measures called "safeguards" to raise tariffs on American beef are expected to be implemented to protect domestic producers. He said that even if it was activated, it would be unlikely that it would have a major impact on people's lives.
With regard to American beef, it is certain that imports will exceed this year's standards set by the Japan-US trade agreement, and the government will soon take measures called "safeguards" to protect domestic producers. Is expected to be activated.
In that case, tariffs on American beef will be raised from the current 25.8% to 38.5% for 30 days from the date of activation.
Regarding this, Minister Nogami said, "While the import volume of beef this year is decreasing as a whole, the amount of beef produced in the United States is increasing compared to the same period of the previous year." I would like to refrain from mentioning the prospects of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries because it gives a prejudice to the market. "
On the other hand, regarding the impact on consumption when safeguards are activated, "Whether or not the increase in tariffs will be passed on to prices cannot be unequivocally stated because the response differs depending on the business operator, but at the time of activation, Japan and the United States It will return to the tariff rate before the trade agreement came into effect, and it is unlikely that it will have a significant impact on people's lives. "