President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Abe yesterday announced plans to begin trade negotiations for a bilateral agreement. Agriculture will be included in the talks, but the leaders said they will cap market access at levels negotiated in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which included concessions for tariffs on American butter, cheese, lactose, milk powder, whipped cream and whey.
“We will urge the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to negotiate for greater market access levels for dairy,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO. “This is a positive development as both sides are now back to the negotiating table.”
The Japanese market is U.S. dairy’s fourth-largest, representing sales of more than $290 million last year.
