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The Quint Nations' Agriculture Ministers Pledge to Strive towards WTO Agriculture Agreement at Hong Kong Council Meeting
Agriculture Minister Mineichi Iwanaga was visiting Australia to attend a meeting of agriculture ministers of the so-called Quint Nations, i.e. Japan, the United States, Australia, Canada and the European Union, where he had a separate meeting with the U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on August 19.
At the meeting, Secretary Johanns told the U.S. intention of taking procedural steps to rescind import ban on Japanese beef, put in place since outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Japan, implying his expectation that Japan reopens its market for the U.S. beef sooner rather than later.
Minister Iwanaga told in reply that there was no change in Japan's position, meaning that the issue of beef market reopening shall be solved based on scientific findings to be made by the Food Safety Commission. He also asked for detailed information in connection with media reports which said that more than a thousand cases of non-compliance of removing specific risk materials such as brains had been detected. Secretary Johanns replied by saying he would "answer", indicating that the request for information would be met.
Minister Iwanaga in his meeting with Australian Agriculture Minister suggested that the practical possibility is very low concerning an issue pending between the two countries, i.e. a free trade area including economic partnership agreement.
In his key note address at the plenary of the quint nations' meeting, on August 20, Minister Iwanaga pointed out the possibility that the global food supply and demand balance could get tight over mid- to long terms, which could be caused by the climate changes, population expansion of the developing world and demand surge in China. He underlined that it was necessary for the net food importing countries with low self-sufficiency ratio and for the developing countries with low economic capability to pay for imported foods to ensure food security based on domestic production.
On the issue of capping import tariffs, a focus of agricultural negotiations, Minister Iwanaga refused to accept the idea saying that trade rules should be such that they can take account of the state of agriculture as well as of the different tariff structure in each member country, and that the tariff capping is absolutely unacceptable.
The quint ministers' meeting closed on August 21, with an agreement that the major developed countries make efforts to arrive at an agreement on agriculture during the WTO Ministers' Council meeting at Hong Kong in December. However, the quint meeting saw split opinions yet resolved over specific issues of improved market access and reduction of domestic support (agricultural subsidies).
Next meeting, to be held in the United States, will be convened during the next year at earliest or the year after next at the latest.
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