A trade agreement between Japan and the European Union could end up affecting American exports to Japan, reports MarketWatch. The agreement, signed last week, calls for Europe to lower tariffs on Japanese automobiles in return for Japan lowering tariffs on European meat and dairy products. Japan has been the biggest export market for U.S. beef and the second-biggest export market for U.S. pork.
“I would expect Europe having a more competitive position on pork markets than they do today, and beef markets as well,” American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Bob Young said. “Any move that they make that would give Europe preferential tariff provisions than what the U.S. has just makes it that much tougher for us to land a product into that market.”