Japan's Trade Policies in for Criticism

March 5, 2001

Japan proposes to include a reduction in its minimum import quota for rice and other new "safeguards" in its proposals on World Trade Organization negotiations for agriculture. The proposals have met with strong opposition from other agricultural product exporting nations, but Japanese officials have no intention of backing down for domestic political reasons.

In a report from the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, USDA says even the European Union, which traditionally aligns with Japan on agriculture issues, appears at odds with Tokyo this time and wants an early conclusion to agricultural product negotiations. The Japanese proposal, in addition to a shrinking rice quota, includes new barriers against imported vegetables, wood, and seafood products.

On another food front in Japan, total sales of supermarkets in 2000 declined by 5.1% compared to last year on a same-store basis, according to the Japan Chain Stores Association. This was the 25th consecutive month of decline and the worst year on record. However, the food area fared much better than clothing and household good sales. Food sales, which make up the highest proportion of supermarket sales, remained flat from the previous year.

New Zealand has approached the Japanese government about the possibility of forming a bilateral free trade, according to media reports. New Zealand is open to further talks on joining ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and AFTA (the ASEAN Free Trade Area). Japan appears interested only in joint cooperation in the field of information technology, and any free trade agreement with New Zealand covering agricultural and other exports is unlikely in the near future, according to the Nikkei Net.