After years of negotiations, a free trade agreement between Japan and Mexico comes into effect today. Japan has in the past been reluctant to sign trade pacts. The agreement affects a range of products, including pork.
This report from Jonathan Head:
From today, Japan's nine thousand pig farmers will experience something entirely new - competition.
Under the terms of a landmark free trade agreement with Mexico, pork will be subject to much lower tariffs along with a range of other products.
In fact, more than ninety percent of Mexican products will have their tariffs cut altogether.
This is the first time Japan has made such an agreement with a major trading partner.
The only other free trade pact it has is with Singapore which produces none of the sensitive agricultural commodities Japan has always protected in the past.
At the moment, Japan exports far more to Mexico than it imports.
Mexican officials believe trade will be far more balanced now that the agreement is in place.
It took more than two years of difficult negotiations to conclude.
Many politicians in the governing liberal democratic party have their power base in rural areas and their reluctance to lift the tariffs protecting Japanese pig farmers nearly killed the deal.
But the government believes it has no choice but to start opening Japan's agricultural sector to foreign competition.
China has proved far more open to reaching free trade agreements helping it rival or even eclipse Japan's influence in the Asia Pacific region.
Jonathan Head, Tokyo
comes into effect
legal por primera vez
free trade agreement
un acuerdo o pacto entre países que permite la venta ilimitada de productos, los cuales son importados y exportados sin aranceles altos
landmark
En este caso, un adjetivo que significa primera vez o muy importante
tariffs
impuesto que cobran los gobiernos sobre bienes que ingresan o salen del país
sensitive agricultural commodities
productos de granja muy apreciados y que por ello necesitan que sean manipulados con ciudado
in place
Si algo está in place, legalmente existe
power base
el área del país donde la mayoría de la gente apoya a los políticos
killed the deal
casi se impidió que se concretara el acuerdo
agricultural sector
área de los negocios relativa a la agricultura
eclipse
en este caso, convertirse en más importante que
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