On September 25, 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a fact sheet about the U.S. – Japan Free Trade Agreement in the areas of market access and digital trade.
The agreement include the following commitments:
- Japan will reduce or eliminate tariffs, or provide “preferential U.S. specific quotas,” on certain agricultural products such as:
- Beef and pork;
- Wheat and barley;
- Various nuts, fruits, and vegetables;
- The U.S. will lower or eliminate tariffs on agricultural and industrial products including:
- Plants and cut flowers;
- Green tea;
- Soy sauce;
- Machine tools;
- Steam turbines.
According to the fact sheet, the anticipated changes affect 90 percent of U.S. agricultural products imported into Japan, and $40 million of agricultural imports into the U.S. from Japan.
Both countries also agreed to “a high standard and comprehensive set of provisions addressing priority areas of digital trade” encompassing topics such as barrier-free data transfers across borders and customs duties on digital products.
The USTR’s fact sheet on the agreement can be found here:
