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US-Japan deal expands opportunities for US red meat

The US Meat Export Federation says there’s good news on the horizon for US beef and pork industries now that the partial US-Japan trade agreement has been approved by the Japanese Parliament. 

USEMF economist Erin Borror says the US is back on a level playing field with its competitors.  “We have been at a significant and growing tariff disadvantage compared to our major competitors in the Japanese market,” she says.  “We had already seen our  market share erode especially on the pork side with these tariff disadvantages.”

She tells Brownfield US beef and pork sectors will not only be able to recover some of their lost market share, but capitalize on the growth potential in the Japanese market. “Japan has continued to import more beef and pork and we see this trend continuing,” she says.  “There’s still room to grow Japanese consumption which US red meat would help enable that growth with greater availability and affordability.”

Now that tariff rates for the US will mirror those of major competitors, the USMEF forecast that US beef and pork exports to Japan for 2020 to reach $2.3 billion for beef and $1.7 billion for pork. 

And by 2025, US red meat exports to Japan will approach the $5 billion mark as consumption of US red meat increases because of the greater access for Japanese consumers.

Implementation of the trade agreement is expected to begin in early January. 

AUDIO: Erin Borror, US Meat Export Federation