ニュース 2014/04/07 Statement regarding the reduction of beef tariffs in the broad agreement on the Japan-Australia EPA On April 7, DPJ Next Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Katsuya Ogawa issued a statement regarding the news that a broad agreement had been reached in a bilateral leadership summit held the same day on concluding an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Japan and Australia that included a provision for reducing beef tariffs. He expressed the opinion that “concluding an agreement without the declaration of concrete measures for mitigating its impact on our domestic livestock industry will just cause uncertainty amongst livestock farmers. The government should lay out such measures at an early date.” The entire statement is as follows. 1. Today, a summit meeting was held between the leaders of Japan and Australia. Broad agreement was reached on a Japan-Australia EPA, and in particular, that tariffs on frozen beef to be used for processing should be reduced over a period of 18 years after the EPA comes into effect from the current rate of 38.5 % to 19.5%, and that tariffs on fresh refrigerated beef should be reduced to 23.5% over a period of 15 years. 2. In 2006, a resolution was passed in the Committees on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in both Houses of the Diet regarding a Japan-Australia EPA, which stated that “the government should make every effort to ensure that key agricultural products are either to be excluded from the negotiations or to be subject to renegotiation” and “A time-limit should not be set for negotiations, and the government should negotiate determinedly. On the other hand, the government should take hard decisions regarding negotiations, including the possibility of withdrawal, if sufficient consideration is not being given to treating our country’s key agricultural products flexibly.” 3. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoshimasa Hayashi has stated repeatedly in the Diet that the Diet resolutions will be respected, but the fact that a broad agreement on lowering beef tariffs has been reached on this occasion without sufficient debate being undertaken, is contrary to the intent of the resolutions passed in both Houses and it cannot be said that the government have fulfilled their accountability responsibilities toward either the people or the legislative body. 4. Furthermore, concluding an agreement without the declaration of concrete measures for mitigating its impact on our domestic livestock industry will just cause uncertainty amongst livestock farmers. The government should lay out such measures at an early date. 5. The DPJ will continue to fiercely pursue such issues in the forthcoming Diet debate.