On September 25th, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the U.S. and Japan reached an agreement that will reduce agricultural and industrial tariffs. This agreement also includes a set of provisions that address digital trade barriers between the two countries.

U.S. officials have agreed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on 42 HTS codes of certain agricultural imports from Japan, such as green tea, chewing gum and soy sauce, in exchange for the Japanese government eliminating or lowering tariffs on certain agricultural products imported from the U.S. Additionally, the U.S. also agreed to reduce tariffs on certain industrial goods from Japan, including certain machine tools, fasteners, steam turbines, bicycles, bicycle parts, and musical instruments.

At this time, the USTR has yet to announce the date this agreement will go into effect.

Click here to view the official USTR announcement.

Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.