Tokyo called on the United States and other food-exporting countries Wednesday to first make concessions in the difficult trade liberalization talks before Japan changes its protectionist stance on certain certain agricultural items.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso told World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy that the Doha round of trade liberalization negotiations should proceed based on the principle of give and take, and stressed the importance of balancing the interests of food exporters and importers, including Japan, a Foreign Ministry official said.
Lamy said the amount of flexibility Japan can secure in the WTO agricultural talks would be key. He also said the United States has to strike a balance between its cuts in domestic farm subsidies and reductions in tariffs for other countries' farm items.