Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 6/15/18


This week’s well-attended USDA trade mission to Japan has been “upbeat,” and attendees are cautiously optimistic about the benefits of future trade deals with both Japan and China, USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Ted McKinney told reporters on a call earlier this week.

McKinney led a delegation of 42 agri-businesses and representatives from 15 state Departments of Agriculture to Japan to make connections with potential buyers and learn about manufacturing and retail operations in that country.

In answer to a reporter’s question, McKinney said that conversations with their Japanese counterparts did not touch on whether the trade connections were dependent on the U.S. rejoining the Trans Pacific Partnership or whether they would be part of a bilateral relationship.

Once the TPP provisions start to kick in, assuming that is without the United State’s participation, many ag products now exported to Japan in large quantities could lose market share to other TPP countries with lower trade barriers.

Nevertheless, McKinney said, “I’m sure, as a business person, they’re going to look at all aspects including price, [but] the quality of U.S. products is superior and people know that” in Japan, according to a transcript of the call.

Better relations with China
McKinney also answered questions about a recent trip to Beijing, saying that after the visit the two countries’ relations “improved more than just a little bit.”

The Chinese representatives wanted to talk numbers, McKinney reported. Their U.S. counterparts, however, “countered by saying we’re not talking numbers until we talk through a lot of the policy and regulatory issues.”

“So … I don’t think we got everything we wanted, but I think this is a continuum,” he added.

“But I will say, we felt pretty good about the agricultural discussion that we had … . We’ll just have to see how it goes, but I would say if you wanted to look at whether the visit was successful for agriculture, it was.”

Meanwhile, McKinney commented, “I have yet to talk to any (U.S.) institution that has not experienced some of the nefarious actions of the Chinese.”

U.S. ag groups have backed this approach to trade with China “because non-tariff trade barriers, unfair trade actions have been going on for too long. Now, they hope we can get it resolved quickly, and I am of that very same view, but I have not heard anyone say that this is the wrong thing to do,” McKinney told reporters.

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