Japan to Eliminate Tariffs on U.S. Wine

Japan will eliminate tariffs on U.S. wine imports as part of a trade agreement announced between the U.S. and Japan.  Reuters said Japan will eliminate the tariffs on U.S. wine within five to seven years after the trade agreement goes into effect.  Japan currently taxes wine at 15% per liter, and the trade agreement would cut the tariff by roughly 13%.  Leaders of the two nations are expected to sign the agreement on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting later this month.

The agreement, welcomed by agriculture, also gradually lowers tariffs on U.S. beef exports to Japan, from 38%, to nine percent by 2033.  Many of the bilateral agreement provisions match those included in the TPP.  The remaining nations enacted the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, after the United States pulled out of the original . The bilateral agreement with Japan should level the playing field for U.S. agriculture and its competitors, provide increased market opportunity.

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