NCBA Asks for Waiver of Japanese Trade Safeguard

A huge dent in the Japanese beef market was created when BSE was discovered in that country Sept. 10, 2001.  The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association NCBA has asked two U.S. government offices to take the lead in making sure this extraordinary event doesn’t further slow U.S. exports to that country.

Wythe Willey, president of NCBA and a beef producer from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sent a letter today to both USDA and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) asking for assistance in protecting U.S. beef exports to Japan.  He requested they coordinate with other U.S. agencies, as well as governments of other beef exporting countries, to assure that a Japanese trade safeguard that would increase tariffs is waived. 

The safeguard was designed so that if imports increase more than 17 percent during any given quarter as compared to the same quarter the previous year, Japan’s current 38.5 percent tariff on imported product increases to 50 percent to protect the domestic industry.  Because of the Sept. 10 event, there is a very real probability that the safeguard will be triggered, even though Japanese beef imports remain far below historical levels.

If triggered, the 50 percent tariff remains in place for the remainder of the Japanese fiscal year.

Currently, the Japanese beef market is in recovery, and beef imports in Japan will likely begin to increase substantially above last year’s historically small levels.  This is in part a result of U.S. efforts to regain confidence among Japanese consumers about the safety and wholesomeness of beef.  The U.S. beef industry, through the beef checkoff and other sources, and the U.S. government collectively invested almost $9 million to restore demand in the Japanese beef market.

“As we aggressively move forward during the longer-term agriculture negotiations, including market access issues, it is imperative that we maintain and grow the shorter-term export market for U.S. beef in Japan,” Willey wrote.  “We urge you to negotiate with your Japanese counterparts to gain a one-time waiver in the beef safeguard, or at a minimum to have them use a multiple year average of imports instead of last year’s BSE-devastated market as the basis for comparison.”

NCBA strongly supports a U.S. proposal for market access at the WTO agricultural negotiations that would eventually eliminate Japan’s safeguard mechanisms.  But this proposal would be adopted too late to preserve the current recovery in the Japanese market for U.S. beef producers.

Japan is the largest export market for U.S. beef.  And, trade is vital to the U.S. beef industry, which is uniquely positioned as a leading global exporter as well as the world’s largest importer.  ‘Maintaining a balance between exports and imports is vital to the profitability of the U.S. beef and cattle industry,” Willey wrote, urging involved governments to collaborate on this very important issue. 

Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.