“Japan is considering sweetening the pot for U.S. rice farmers” when trade ministers meet today in Atlanta in a renewed attempt to wrap up negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc, reports Kyodo, citing a source close to the matter. The proposal would allocate 50,000 tonnes for medium-grain rice within Japan’s existing 770,000-tonne quota for duty-free rice imports. “The allocation would benefit U.S. farmers,” said Kyodo, and would crowd out rice from Thailand, China and Australia.
Earlier, Japan proposed a 70,000-tonne quota for U.S. rice that would be free of tariffs. U.S. officials wanted a 175,000-tonne allocation, said Kyodo. To protect its farmers, Japan has a 778 percent tariff on rice imports except for the 770,000 tonnes allowed to enter duty-free. U.S. rice captured 360,000 tonnes of that allocation in 2014, said Kyodo. “Some countries believe a deal must be struck ahead of the general election in Canada next month and before the national focus in the United States shifts later this year to the 2016 presidential election.”