Japan to Cut Farm Product Tariffs
The Japanese government has decided to accept a request from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that Japan reduce tariffs on agricultural products by an average of 36%, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported. Japan will continue to refuse to open its rice market, the paper said.
Japanese news reports last week cited Ichiro Ozawa, one of the most influential politicians in Japan’s coalition government, as saying that the government is negotiating with the GATT on possible opening of the country’s rice market to imports.
Opening of Japan’s rice market could benefit California rice growers, who sell a type of rice that is popular in the Asian nation.
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