Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is voicing concerns that Japan’s tariff increase on U.S. frozen beef could increase the U.S. overall trade deficit with Japan.
He says the potential deficit increase would harm the U.S. bilateral trade relationship with Japan on agricultural products.
Japan announced that the increase in frozen beef imports from the U.S. in the first quarter of the Japanese fiscal year triggered a safeguard, resulting in an automatic increase to Japan’s tariff.
The tariffs will begin August first, and last through March 31st, 2018. Perdue says he has asked representatives of Japan’s government to “to make every effort” to address his concerns and the harm that could result to consumers from the U.S. and Japan.
