Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

1. Protectionism

  • Restore tweaked domestic subsidy programs
  • Incentivize larger-scale production
  • Reject calls to remove tariffs indefinitely
  • Restore focus on Japanese food security and cultural values
  • Ensure Japan's capacity to cover domestic rice demand

2. Compromise

  • Target larger-scale industrial agriculture with subsidies
  • Allow companies not producing to increase investment
  • Trade current tariffs for wider quotas
  • Allocate equal access to interested parties under potential FTAs

3. Liberalization

  • Continue on current path to remove subsidies and production control
  • Reduce tariffs on rice imports to 50%

Rice Protectionism in Japan

Key Considerations

Critique of Japanese Rice Market

Background

Japanese Agriculture

Current Status

- Japan has consistently met its obligation under AoA by reporting an Aggregate Measure of Support as ZERO.

- Protects domestic rice industry through substantial tariff barriers for imported rice

- Japanese farmers are shielded from all foreign competition

What is Protectionism?

- Restraining trade between states

- Designed to allow fair competition between imports and _domestic goods an services

Green Box

  • Rice is a staple, culturally significant commodity
  • Food Sovereignty level already below 40%
  • Domestic production protects Japan from external pressures
  • Post-WWII shortages ever-present in the nation's consciousness
  • Agriculture has always been more politics than economics - why change?
  • Japanese consumers can afford prices set above world price
  • Strongly represented by Japanese Agricultural Cooperatives (JA or Nokyo)
  • 45% of the Diet (Japanese Parliament) members are "agricultural representatives"

Market Access

- A country may avoid reporting its domestic agricultural support under the AMS by classifying it as a “green box” measure.

- Annex 2:

"A country may avoid reporting its domestic agricultural support under the AMS by classifying it as a “green box” measure" (Udo, 177).

-Rice Paddy Diversion payments

- Also classifies for payments during relief of natural disasters, land consolidation and interest concessions for agricultural loans as "Green Box" measures

Agricultural Protectionism

- According to Articles 4, 5 and Annex 5 countries are prohibited from assessing non tariff barriers to trade agricultural products

- Japan has continued to maintain incredibly high tariffs

- Under the AoA, Japan is required to import a certain amount of foreign rice each year under what is known as the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ)

- In 2001, Japan’s import quota for rice and rice products was 682,000 tons

- A large percentage of imported rice within the TRQ is not sold within Japan’s domestic market, as the AoA intended, but is donated as food aid

Developing Countries

Developed Countries

- Developing countries prefer to focus on implementation of issues from previous Round

- Current stand of Japan

- Locally grown short-grain rice is superior to the long-grain version grown in places such as California and Southeast Asia.

- Rice protectionist measures are necessary to ensure that Japan can feed its own population

GATT

“The JA group is opposed to participation in the TPP negotiations that can not be compatible with the food security of our country.” - Japan Agriculture Website

- Get superior bargaining powers

- Farmers are highly reliant on government support

- Agricultural subsidies lead to overproduction in world market

- AoA is unfair because developed countries get preferential treatment

- Concerned with fair competition

- Influx of foreign goods stifles farmers' markets

- In favor of eliminating subsidies and promoting market access

Uruguay Round Negotiations

Agreement of Agriculture (AoA)

Marrakesh Agreement

- Recognized that domestic policies should be regulated in addition to policies governing international trade such as tariffs and quotas

- It covered both border measures and domestic policies

- Border measures refer to the set of policies targetted towards trade flows and prices by the use of import quotas and tariffs

- Domestic Agricultural support is divided into two categories:

- Those that distort trade and those that do not

Agreement of Agriculture

WTO

Positive Externalities

Bibliography

Recommendations for Policy Makers

THANKYOU!

Options for Action

Aksoy, Ataman. "Global Agricultural Trade and Developing Countries." World Bank. N.p., n.d.

Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

"Defend the local community and economy from TPP." JA ZenChu. N.p.. Web. 19 Mar 2014. <http://www.zenchu-ja.or.jp/food/tpp>.

George, Aurelia. "The Politics of Interest Representation in the Japanese Diet: The Case of Agriculture." Pacific Affairs. 64.4 (1991): 506-528. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Udo, Chandler H. "Japanese Rice Protectionism: A Challenge for the Development of Agricultural

Trade Laws." Boston College International and Law Review 9th ser. 30.1 (2008): n. pag. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.

Vogel, David. "Consumer Protection and Protectionism in Japan." Journal of Japanese Studies 18.1

(1992): 119-94. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.

Yanagisawa, Takuya, and Kuo Cheng-Tian. "The Politics of Japan's Rice Trade." Journal of NorthEast Asian Studies. (1992): 19-39. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

2. Compromise

  • Target larger-scale industrial agriculture with subsidies
  • Allow companies not producing to increase investment (own land)
  • Trade current tariffs for wider quotas
  • Allocate equal access to interested parties under potential FTAs

Substantial agricultural autonomy remains in Japan

Increase domestic production efficiency and incentives

Allows prices to remain stable, harnessing total quantity of rice imported

Profits Japan with access to mutually beneficial trade partnerships

Bob Angell

&

Tanvir Janmohamed

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi