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Noda paves way for TPP participation
The Japanese government decided Friday to join talks on a Pacific free trade agreement with a view to boosting the country's sluggish economy, fending off opposition from within the ruling party amid concern that the U.S.-backed tariff-cutting pact could adversely affect farmers and various sectors of everyday life.
The government is rushing to jump on the bandwagon as the talks are already in full swing, with trade ministers from the nine countries agreeing Thursday in Hawaii to forge a broad outline of the TPP agreement on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit.
Farm minister Michihiko Kano said Friday that it will be "extremely difficult" for Japan to set exceptions to the removal of tariffs on sensitive items such as rice, as it has done in past bilateral FTAs with other countries.
read the whole article:
Noda paves way for TPP participation | The Japan Times Online
Japan's decision to join the TPP makes sense for two key reasons. First, the current structure of the Japanese economy, especially the agricultural sector, is not sustainable. As Japan's Council to Promote the Revitalisation of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries made clear in its October report, these sectors are under severe strain. Problems include declining incomes, shortages of farmers and an aging population. Addressing these issues will require a reorganisation of the country's agricultural sector — whether Japan enters the TPP or not.
Second, Japan's export sector is increasingly suffering from trade diversion, as key trading competitors like South Korea benefit from their various FTAs. For example, the EU-Korea FTA and the EU-US FTA mean that Korean cars will enter the EU and US markets more cheaply than those from Japan. This will make life increasingly difficult for Japanese car manufacturers seeking to export their goods. And while Japan does have a network of economic partnership agreements, most are not with major trading partners.
Japan is on the right track. Isolation and bilateral FTAs are no options in a globalised economy. I understand the woes of farmers and fishermen, but take a look at the bare numbers: only 4 percent of Japan's workforce are in the agricultural sector, and they generate 1.5 percent (!) of Japan's GDP. Yet, they have a disastrous stranglehold on policy-making, postponing vital economic and political decisions that should have been made years ago.
Interesting read from the East Asia Forum:
From the same source, but different contributors:
Industry versus agriculture in Japan's TPP debate
Japan's confused debate about the TPP
That's an interesting one, as some Japanese politicians seem to believe joining the TPP is a strategy against China...
I think it is an unequal agreement like a Treaty of Amity and Commerce (United States–Japan)米韓FTAが発効してもすぐには関税率が下がらない。
乗用車は韓国側が主張した「関税の即時撤廃」が「5年後撤廃」になり、
商用車については「米側は10年目に撤廃。韓国側は現行10%の関税を即時撤廃」になった。
しかも、米側には「自動車に限定したセーフガード(緊急輸入制限)条項」が付いた。
米国車に対し韓国国内で協定違反があった場合、
「米側は韓国メーカーに関税を2億ドル課することができる」ようになった。
i think you guys did not watch those video? or can not understand Japanese?