U.S. Inks Beef Agreement with Japan

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, announced last week the U.S. has signed a new agreement with Japan to further open the Japanese market to U.S. beef. The agreement increases trigger levels on the amounts of U.S. beef which can be sold in Japan before higher tariffs would be imposed. U.S. beef in Japan is presently at a competitive disadvantage to competitors like Australia who are participants in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The U.S. withdrew from the multi-country framework under President Trump. The new agreement will place the United States on equal footing with nations in the CPTPP. Japan was the second-largest importer of U.S. beef last year behind South Korea, purchasing almost $2.4 billion. According to the U.S. Census Bureau Trade Data, Nebraska, the nation’s top beef exporting state, exported $457 million of beef to Japan in 2021, up from $373 million in 2017. The agreement lays the groundwork for even greater exports to Japan benefitting Nebraska’s beef producers, processors, and the state as a whole.