Japan Parliament Agrees To Cut Tariffs On US Imports

Japan’s House of Councillors approved a trade deal between the two countries on Wednesday that will see the tariffs on U.S. imports in the country come down significantly, The Nikkei Asian Review reported.

As part of the agreement, the U.S. government is expected to cut 92% of the tariffs imposed on Japanese imports in the country, while Japan cuts about 84% of the tariffs, a Japanese official told The Nikkei.

Another agreement related to the digital trade of goods, including e-commerce, was also approved by the House. The bills will come into effect on January 1. 

Long-Standing Negotiations

The U.S. and Japan reached an agreement in September over eliminating the tariffs entirely on some farm products and cutting tariffs on others. The two countries had been in talks since September 2018.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe then said they wanted to finish the trade talks over other matters in the next four months. 

That deadline is now stretched to the next year, at least, as the two countries continue to mull over tariffs on automobiles and automobile components.