Economics and Politics of Rice Policy in Japan: A Perspective on the Uruguay Round / Yujiro Hayami, Yoshihisa Godo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hayami, Yujiro.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Godo, Yoshihisa.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w5341.

NBER working paper series no. w5341

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Economics and Politics of Rice Policy in Japan

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1995.

Summary:

This paper reviews the recent problems of the opening of Japan's rice market and evaluates the Japanese government's rice policy from both an economic and political viewpoint. The Japanese government made strenuous resistance to the opening of Japan's rice market during the negotiations on agricultural trade at the GATT Uruguay Round. Eventually Japan's rice was made exempt from tariffication by compensating in the form of increased 'minimum access' import quotas. However, the tariffication rule of the final agreement guarantees that importing countries can impose considerably high tariffs. Thus, the volume of Japan's rice imports could be decreased if the Japanese government accepted the tariffication agreement. In retrospect the decisions made by the Japanese government have effectively protected the vested interests of the domestic rice distribution system, while hindering the structural improvement of the Japanese rice industry.

Notes:

Print version record

November 1995.