Japan and the TPP
November 12th, 2010 at 10:00 am by David FarrarJohn Armstrong reports:
New Zealand ministers have their fingers crossed that a poll of the Japanese public will back Tokyo’s plans to join a Pacific-wide free trade agreement.
The Japanese Cabinet formally approved a new trade policy on Tuesday which will see Japan “gathering further information” before “initiating consultations” with the nine-member Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which includes New Zealand and the United States.
Despite the cautionary tone of that statement, Trade Minister Tim Groser last night described the Cabinet’s position as the most significant development in Japanese trade policy in the last 25 years. …
Japan’s highly-inefficient farmers have long been sheltered behind high tariff walls, effectively blocking foreign exports, particularly rice and dairy products.
However, big business in Japan is firmly behind the Government amidst feelings that Japan risks falling behind the play unless it secures more free trade deals to safeguard its industrial exports.
A poll in the Daily Yomiuri newspaper had more than 60 per cent of respondents favouring Japan joining the TPP and only 18 per cent against.
This would be amazing if Japan agreed to an FTA which includes agriculture.
The EU may remain the last bastion of protectionism at this rate!
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- End of an era in Japan
- Various thoughts on Japan
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November 12th, 2010 at 10:04 am
It’d be one thing to have “free trade” with Japan, quite another to break into the Japanese market.
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 10:10 am
There will be side letters effectively exempting agriculture especially rice (that will not affect us), but beef should be OK and perhaps Dairy.
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 10:11 am
They seem to like our cherries well enough Greg.
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 10:21 am
They said on the news the other night that Japan has a 500% tariff on imported butter.
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 10:45 am
NZ is the only country dumb enough to play fair! Japan has trade tarrifs, the US and China manipulate their currency, Pakistan cheats at cricket……….time to get down and dirty!
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Kaya, so if Japan deliberately penalizes it’s consumers as an electoral bribe for a small (but apparently influential) group of voters, NZ should similarly penalize consumers ? With the currencies, both China and the US CAN manipulate their currencies (with beneficial results, well, the jury is still out to be charitable), NZ lacks the ability to readily do the same. A lower NZ$ would benefit agricultural exporters, but would penalize consumers in general.
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I’m hoping the socialism debt mountain in Europe wil mean the collapse of the EUSSR soon…
Norway and the Swiss are showing that membership is not required for success in Europe, if Cameron had any balls the UK would be out completely by now…
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 11:36 am
“The EU may remain the last bastion of protectionism at this rate!”
Sorry?
Did you forget about the strength of the U.S. farming lobby, or the U.S. cheese manufacturers lobby? How about effects on international trade from the Farm Bill(s)?
As a tiny example 2008 provisions include, amongst others: “Provisions for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers consistently provide enhanced support across most of the titles in the legislation.”
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Ed Snack – I was pointing out the irony that a country as small as ours is about the only one that plays by the rules. “Free trade” is (in very many instances) a myth.
Anyway, watch that space, it looks like we may be heading back to the bad old days of more protectionism with all the interference going on in the markets. Maybe capitalism is heading the same way as communism, nice theory but doesn’t quite measure up in reality? (and struggling for the same reasons, some people will do anything to get on top of the food chain and won’t play fair.)
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Maybe capitalism is heading the same way as communism, nice theory but doesn’t quite measure up in reality? (and struggling for the same reasons, some people will do anything to get on top of the food chain and won’t play fair.
Whats “Capitalist” about moronic protectionism?…they are mutrally exclusive things.Even if every other country on Earth erected taffifs aginst our goods we would still be far better off by having none against theirs and enjoying their taxpayer subsidised goods at cheap prices.Tariffs just fuck over your own consumers by making them pay more for local,uncompetitive shit produced by uneconomic labour.
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Hi folks, I don’t see any NZ dairy products here except for the occasional bucket of ice cream. So I buy Japanese produced milk, 200 yen a carton or thereabouts. But I do see kiwifruit and onions from NZ (and indeed buy the kiwifruit, despite the exorbitant cost of about 100 yen a piece). There is a mountain of Aussie and US beef here already (a mountain I tell you), I’m not sure why NZ beef isn’t to be found so readily. That’s probably due to a lack of supply comparative to Aussie and the USA.
The way the Japanese voting system works gives disproportionate representation to rural voters apparently, so this is a stumbling block, but the agricultural workforce is slowly dying off it seems.
As an aside I think Japan should link lifting agricultural trade barriers with Aussie, NZ and USA agreeing to adopt rational position at the international whaling commission. The only competition for whale meat (“wheef”) supply at the moment comes from Iceland, so wheef production could be just the alternative field to which disaffected farmers might get into once the trade barriers are gone. But I guess the Aussies and Kiwis will get back into whaling then… after all, we hunt “critically endangered” bluefin tuna and export to Japan for lucrative profits, so non-endangered whales must surely be a valid resource too.
Vote:November 12th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Clinton may have woken up to the fact that the US economy needs to trade with someone to get out of its hole. That and the growing economic power of the Chinese means that new strategies come into play.
Vote:If the US can grow its trade with SE Asia through to India and the Pacific including western south American countries. They could then still obtain cheaply produced products without having to buy from China.
This would also have potential benefit in growing these economies and possibly get the US on the good side of some muslims in Indonesia. Although moderate muslims appear to be a contradictory term they may want to take the risk.
For NZ it may mean we are in a position of taking advantage of a new block
This move may also marginalise Japan so the Japanese may be forced to change direction.
The EU will hold its protection policies as long as possible, Africa will remain a basket case so this maybe the US’s only logical option.
November 12th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
James – I’m not saying that capitalism is protectionist in theory, but in practice thats what seems to happen. The USA would be the world poster child for capitalism but even they are acting that way. Printing money to protect their exports.
That was my point, the theory is good. Same as with communism, everone equal, all working hard for the common good. Workers paradise. Yah yah. It looks good on paper.
The theories don’t match the reality is what I’m saying and it seems to apply to all ideologies.
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