The George W. Bush administration said it wants Japan to roll back an increase in tariffs on beef imports, arguing that those curbs on about US$500 million a year worth of meat shipments violate the spirit of trade agreements.
Japan also should begin offering compromises in ongoing negotiations in the WTO for the 146 member countries to make progress at a meeting of trade ministers next month, Allen Johnson, the US negotiator for agriculture, said.
"They're the world's second largest economy and they have a responsibility for leadership" on trade, Johnson told reporters in Washington. "We haven't seen signs of progress so far."
Japan increased tariffs on chilled beef from 38.5 percent to 50 percent, starting last Friday, citing a regulation that enables it to protect its domestic industry. The action, although permissible under WTO rules, has upset US farm groups that view the talks as a way to expand sales.
"At the end of the day we need more access to markets, especially in North Asia," said Gregg Doud, chief economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
The action also contrasts with efforts by the EU to reduce subsidies, Johnson suggested.
Until the EU agreed a month ago to cut those payments, "Europe wasn't engaged in the process" at the WTO, Johnson said. "At least now they've shown their intention to get involved in the process."
Reaching a trade agreement during the ongoing Doha Round of negotiations at the WTO may boost the world economy by US$800 billion a year, the World Bank says.
Chilled beef imports from the US, Australia and other countries rose 34 percent to 65,995 tonnes in the three months that ended June 30.
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