Japan has officially entered the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations...it will get testy

[Godhumor]

Japan makes belated debut at end of TPP round in Malaysia
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/07/23/business/japan-makes-belated-debut-at-end-of-tpp-round-in-malaysia/

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While Japan seeks to eliminate trade barriers to boost exports of cars and other manufactured goods, the government has also pledged to protect its sensitive farm products, namely rice, wheat, beef, pork, dairy products and sugar, by retaining the tariffs it imposes on imports.

...

But as the TPP members will be devoting Wednesday afternoon and the last day to briefing Japan on the current status of the negotiations and providing background information on accord texts, Japanese officials are hoping its negotiators can fully present the country’s positions.

Some TPP members have shown understanding of Japan’s intention to protect its agricultural industry, with a Vietnamese TPP official saying member states “should cooperate to explore solutions for the sensitive sectors that member countries think should be protected.”

The addition of Japan to the membership significantly raises the size of the envisioned pact. With Japan, TPP countries will account for nearly 40 percent of global gross domestic product and about one-third of all world trade.
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Not in this article, but, after the election this week business firms appear to have two primary areas of interest in eliminating trade barriers:
- Weakening "Buy American" provisions for US industry
- Asking the US to limit antidumping activities (In very general terms, dumping is the act of selling an item as an export at a price lower than what is charged domestically. It is not strictly illegal by WTO standards unless harm can be proven to the importing country's affected industry). US firms are extremely active in antidumping lawsuits and challenges when compared to other countries.

US primary concern within Japan is opening up the Japanese auto market to US cars (sound familiar?).

I expect unions on both sides (yes, Japan is unionized--even moreso than the US) to challenge any compromise on the above "hotspots".

[djean111]

1. I wonder how Japan feels about the part of the TPP that says if Japan's regulations

cause a TPP member to lose profits, the TPP member can sue for damages....that is the most fucked up part, to me.
But then, the TPP is mostly shrouded in secrecy, so there might be worse things.

[Godhumor]

2. bump nt

[Catherina]

3. Japanese lawmakers, stakeholders feel left in dark on TPP talks (gee, how familiar)

Japanese lawmakers, stakeholders feel left in dark on TPP talks

Jul 24, 2013

KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA – Japanese lawmakers, and business and agricultural lobby groups scrambled to gather information on the progress of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks in Malaysia on Wednesday, a day after Japan joined the negotiating table.
...
The LDP has adopted a resolution demanding that the government protect key farm products — rice, wheat, beef, pork, dairy products and sugar — by retaining tariffs on imports, amid strong domestic concerns that an influx of cheap imports could devastate the country’s agricultural sector.
...

A senior official of the Japan Swine Farm Business Cooperation said, “We tried to gather information from industrial lobby groups of other countries at this round, but everyone has already left.”

The official stakeholder forum and briefing was held Saturday, before Japan became a member of the TPP negotiations, and Japanese stakeholders could not attend those sessions.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/07/24/national/japanese-lawmakers-stakeholders-feel-left-in-dark-on-tpp-talks/