Brazil demands greater opening of Japanese market to agricultural imports at WTO meeting

Several countries, including Brazil, demanded, once again, that Japan open its market further to imported agricultural products. The request was made during an examination of the Asian country’s trade policy on Monday, July 6, at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Japan is Brazil’s sixth-largest trading partner, with bilateral relations generally considered to be very good. In 2019, trade between the two countries grew by almost 10% compared to 2018, to US$9.5 billion. The Brazilian delegation said it expected Japan to promote a new investment cycle in Brazil in the coming years but, at the same time, pointed out specific issues in the trade relationship, such as subsidies and protections provided by the Asian country at much higher levels than in other developed countries, “in a way that is particularly damaging to the interests of exporters like Brazil”.

Phytosanitary issues were also raised, often more stringent in Japan than international standards, which keep doors closed in some segments or raise costs for exporters.  In addition, Japanese restrictions on the entry of thermo-processed beef persist, despite the fact that the product entered the country freely before 2012.  Moreover, Brazil wants to export melons to the Japanese market and presented a plan to that effect in 2016. Tokyo responded in 2017 by making several technical demands. But, until now, Brazil has not received responses from the Japanese authorities of its plan.

The USA, India, and several other partners also complained about barriers to the entry of agricultural products into Japan. India exemplified that the Japanese impose import tariffs of up to 500% and quotas (limited import volume) on some products, that hinder the flow of trade.

Source: Valor Econômico

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