Japan temporarily imposes higher tariffs on U.S. beef imports

Japan is temporarily raising tariffs on U.S. beef imports as shipments exceed levels agreed between the two countries for the fiscal year ending March 31.

Reuters reports that Japan's agriculture ministry announced the tariff hike on Wednesday, March 17. From Thursday, the tariff will rise to 38.5% from 25.8% within 30 days to April 16, marking the first protective action on U.S. beef imports since August 2017.

By early March, Japan imported a total of 242,229 tons of US beef, the ministry said, exceeding the maximum of 242,000 tons set under the Japan-US trade agreement for the current fiscal year.

A slowdown in imports from Australia due to the drought has boosted demand for US beef, a ministry official said. Tariff cuts on U.S. beef since the Japan-U.S. trade deal went into effect last year have also made U.S. beef more competitive, an industry source said.

But the tariff increase is expected to have a limited impact on the local beef market as the tariff will drop to 25% from April 17, the rate is set for the new fiscal year starting in April and beef importers may delay purchases until then. - said the representative of the ministry.