No Quick Accord Expected in Talks With Japan on Beef, Citrus Imports

U.S. and Japanese negotiators, in their third day of talks on beef and citrus trade this week, are expected to continue the discussions in Tokyo next week, U.S. trade officials said Thursday.

The two sides resumed talks on Tuesday after a 12-day hiatus and, according to industry sources, have been making slow progress. But resolution of the dispute does not appear to be near, they said.

Hidero Maki, director general of the Economic Affairs Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, and the deputy U.S. trade representative, Michael Smith, are leading the delegations.

Smith is going to Tokyo next week to discuss semiconductor trade and is expected to meet with Maki on beef and citrus.

Pact Has Expired

A four-year bilateral pact covering about $500 million worth of U.S. exports of beef, veal, oranges and orange juice expired at the end of March.

Japan last week blocked a U.S. request for the formation of a dispute panel at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The negotiators this week have been focusing on a U.S. demand that Tokyo relax its centralized meat marketing regime, meat industry sources said.

In addition to demanding an end to Japan’s quotas on beef and citrus imports, Washington has presented “some very detailed requests” relating to liberalization of the Livestock Industry Promotion Corp., a meat industry official said.

The LIPC is the Japanese state agency that controls beef imports as a part of a strategy of defending domestic prices.

No New Barriers

U.S. negotiators want to ensure that, in the event Tokyo agrees to lift quotas over time, the LIPC not erect new barriers to U.S. exports.

“We don’t want one-half of the pie,” a beef industry official said. “We can eliminate border restrictions and still have marketing and other technical problems.”

Under a 1984 bilateral accord, Japan agreed to allow Japanese end users to negotiate directly or through importers with foreign suppliers about product specification and price.

But the LIPC continued to retain broad control over who could buy and within what price range, according to a study by U.S. Agriculture Department economist William Coyle.

U.S. officials said they have received no indication whether Japanese Agriculture Minister Takashi Sato intends, as was rumored earlier this month, to return to Washington later in April to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter.