Japan is proposing changes to its safeguards for frozen U.S. beef imports, which will shorten review periods and allow importers to voluntarily lower import volumes.
This proposal was be made at the second round of the U.S.-Japan economic meeting in Washington on Oct. 16. It is uncertain whether the USA has agreed to this.
The USA is currently renegotiating free trade agreements with other countries, in an attempt to protect jobs and lower the import – export imbalance.
Under measures currently in place, Japan automatically imposes higher import tariffs if quarterly imports of specific beef products from any country rise more than 17 percent from the previous year.