House Members Call on Obama to Consider Japanese Removal from TPP
The Obama administration should pressure the removal of Japan from Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations over its unwillingness to offer sufficient market access concessions, said a bipartisan group of 138 House members in a July 30 letter to President Barack Obama.…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
The U.S. should also consider moving forward in the negotiations without Canada or any other TPP participant that refuses to sufficiently liberalize its market, said the letter, led by House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and ranking member Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has released minimal information on the progress of negotiations over recent months, but observers have said Japan is protesting liberalization on more than 500 agricultural tariff lines (see 14071709). “This unprecedented and objectionable offer would significantly limit access for U.S. farmers and ranchers to the Japanese market, and most likely, to other TPP countries as well,” said the letter. “Caving to Japan’s demands would set a damaging precedent, compromising the U.S. negotiating position with future TPP members.” Some analysts have said U.S. threats to remove Japan are largely disingenuous (see 14022504).