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Efforts underway to reclaim lost market share in Japan

The US Meat Export Federation says it’s ready for the US to reclaim it’s share of Japan’s red meat market.

Jesse Austin, vice president of marketing says the outlook in Japan is very promising now that implementation of the US-Japan trade deal has begun.  “There’s a lot of optimism in the market,” he says.  “A lot of excitement to once again have a level playing field and to have the tariff disadvantage behind us.”

He says they’ll be working with suppliers and distributors in an effort to recapture some of the lost market share.  “Having the trade situation resolved does put the focus back on the product itself,” he says.  “And the message we relayed to everybody was historically Japan has been the most consistent and reliable trading partner for American agriculture.  And we intend to keep it that way.”

Implementation of the new US-Japan bilateral trade agreement began on January 1, 2020.  A second round of tariff rate reductions will take place April 1, 2020 when the new Japanese fiscal year begins.