Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa made the following comment on Japan’s continued resistance to trade liberalization through the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership has great potential to help create jobs in the United States and abroad. The purpose of the agreement is to promote trade liberalization in the Asia-Pacific region. Unfortunately, Japan seems to continue to believe it’s fair to keep several agricultural products off the table. If Japan is allowed to keep high tariffs for these products untouched through these negotiations, it’s going to send a strong message to the other countries involved that they also can protect products. Japan is an economically developed nation, not a developing country. The third-largest economy in the world can’t make these protectionist moves without causing a ripple effect. If a final Trans-Pacific Partnership ever makes it to the Senate floor, I’d have a hard time voting for an agreement that lets the third-largest economy in the world keep high tariffs on agricultural products, specifically beef and pork. I urge Japanese leaders to consider the commitments they made when they joined the negotiations.”
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