LeveragedBuyout
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- May 16, 2014
- Messages
- 1,958
- Reaction score
- 60
- Country
- Location
Didn't you forget to add that we really didn't want hormone treated cattle and genetically modified crops that have never been subjected to any long(er) term testing?
Except for that one study, in which mice fed exclusively with GM products (top selling brand!) had greatly increased chances for tumors and multiple organ damage, all in a timeframe of one generation.
Also, later some rules were established, non hormone treated cattle can be sold in EU and it's sales are increasing.
Anyhow, i don't see why you are geting so upset, as a tradesman(i presume) you should know all about supply and demand. And here in the case of a certain portion of America's agricultural exports, the supply wasn't up to par. Provide better supply and demand will rise as evident from the beef sales?
Same goes for chickens and chlorine and that one dip......
EU extends deal on beef imports from US | EurActiv
Obviously, if Europeans can't get over their superstitions, TTIP will fail. I'll use the same source you did, to bypass questions of credibility:
Nothing wrong with chlorine-washed chicken, say German backers of TTIP | EurActiv
Sir @LeveragedBuyout ,
Very well written points , again, I thank you for your your well worded answers to all my inquiry. You go above and beyond my expectation explaining issues , and your mastery of economics and markets never ceases to amaze me. I had just read this now and have been waiting to reply because I wanted to research really the etiology for the almost tepid behavior of not only Japanese Government , but also the Japanese Media, in regards to the TPP talks.
As you and I know, the remarkable progress in the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been realized and only recently has the negotiation experienced a stall; due in part to Japan and the United States’ differences in basic trade agreements. The Liberal Democratic Party’s Chairman of the TPP Affairs Committee, Nishikawa Koya, recently had explained that it is the strategy of government to secure measures for sugar, wheat, rice and then to maintain the advantage within the negotations for dairy products, pork and beef. According to the TPP Affairs Committee , they wish to secure acceptable numbers that shall enable Japanese lawmakers’ promise to the people, which is to protect some farm products .
I’m sure you may already see that Japanese media have attempted to ascertain the nature of the disagreement. Some media sources have even assumed and have circulated that Japanese Government was considering special quota of imports wherein American rice imports would be given prioritization over the rice imports of other countries, some media sources have even tried to say that United States was making demands that Japan could not accept, one example was the effective exclusion of cars by taking more than 30 years to abolish tariffs on car imports.
It is understandable that the Japanese Media would correlate the issue of Gaiatsu, which basically means “Outside Pressure”, in context to the United States. The reason for this is because throughout the bilateral relations between Japan and the United States, the latter has always tried to implement Gaiatsu on Japan in order to prying open Japanese markets in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. In fact, in earlier times, the issue of Gaiatsu was a reality because it was used by progressive leaders especially when Japan was considered an industrial threat to the United States during the 1970s, 1980s. During earlier decades of bilateral trade friction, resolving dispute with the United States was the most important driver of Japanese trade policy; even multilateral negotiations under the GATT were accompanied by bilateral Japan – US discussions on the side. One then is left wondering, “If Gaiatsu worked so well in the past, then why is it not working so well now in the present time period?”
The answer to this is: WTO. Since Japan was part of the WTO, one method of handling any trade friction with the United States was through the WTO’s Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism. By utilizing the legalized multilateral framework of the WTO, this had strengthened Japan’s bargaining leverage and bargaining power over time and had effectively weakened the US Pressure on Japan regarding any issues of trade.
A second point that I want to emphasize is that Japan no longer is considered a threat, specifically, an Industrial competitor to the United States as it once was during the 1980s. Besides the concept of Ishitsuron no longer influences negotiators from the United States.
A third issue that I want to mention is that from preliminary experience, any notion of tough stance is not taken seriously. As you remember during the preliminary consultation about Japan possibly joining the TPP negotiations in 2012, it was the United States that had announced a policy of not approving Japan’s participation in TPP talks unless all items, particularly rice and other agrarian goods were put on the negotiation table for tariff elimination. Then what happened? It then later backed off.
Japan places a significant premium on its participation on these TPP negotiations: in both strategic and trade terms. The participation of Japan only amplifies both the strategic and economic importance of the TPP for the United States. With the participation of Japan and its involvement in TPP, this enables the TPP to effectively compete with any of the China-led regional comprehensive economic partnerships that are already around, which, ironically, also involves Japan but not the United States. Absent of Japan, the TPP becomes a sideshow in the US strategic game against China and hardly the vehicle to facilitate the US rebalancing to Asia that America would like it to be. Hence, the threats to expel Japan from the TPP negotiations carry little weight. Besides, Japanese Government understands and is verily aware of the fact that TPP is hostage to any instance of discord in politics in Washington. Unless the Obama Administration has any fast-track authority from Congress, which from our understanding of the Democrats’ decreasing influence and the rising clout of Republicans in Congress and Senate, this is by no means assured. So, in our vantage point, American has to compromise , as we are willing to compromise.
Best,
@Nihonjin1051
Thank you for the comprehensive reply--I would give you a positive rating if I could, but since I can't, two thumbs up.
As far as the issue of gaiatsu and empty US threats, I can only remind you that while the US plays a large role in these negotiations, it is not the only player. And if the choice is between an agreement without Japan, or no agreement at all, I strongly suspect the US will choose the former. It would be great for all of us if Japan were included, and the biggest beneficiaries would probably be Japanese consumers, but clearly each country must weigh the costs and benefits of such an agreement, and decide for itself. If the "high standards" of TPP are deemed too costly for Japan, I suspect it will drop out by itself, without being pressured to do so.
That said, I wonder if Japan can really get a better deal from the CJK FTA, where it will be dealing with far more powerful counterparts.