U.S. tariffs overshadow Japan's agriculture and food exports

Japan Times

17-04-2025

Reciprocal tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump are feared to throw cold water on Japan's efforts to expand its exports of agricultural and food products to the United States.
Last year, Japan exported a record ¥1.5 trillion worth of agricultural, forestry, fishery and food products. Exports to the United States grew 17.8% from the previous year to ¥242.9 billion, surpassing those to China and Hong Kong, which had long been Japan's top export destinations.
The United States is a key market for Japanese exports, with green tea, beef, rice, scallops and alcoholic beverages, including sake, especially gaining traction due to an increase in Japanese restaurants.
"We were just beginning (to boost sales in the United States)," said an official at Hakkaisan Brewery, which produces the Hakkaisan brand of sake.
The sake maker, based in Niigata Prefecture, has been expanding its overseas operations, aided by the listing of traditional sake brewing as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
It has signed a partnership agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, which includes Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, to advertise Hakkaisan at the Dodgers' ballpark.
While the company is also focusing on the European market, the United States is its largest export destination.
The company will continue to work to expand in the U.S. market, but will have to consider diversifying export destinations if doing business in the United States becomes difficult, the official said.
Ito En's green tea product for exports |
Ito En / via Jiji
Ito En has been boosting sales of its green tea products in the U.S. market thanks to the boom in Japanese cuisine and rising health awareness. It is gaining consumer recognition after featuring Ohtani in its advertising.
Green tea was previously not subject to tariffs, so Ito En may be forced to raise prices. A company official expressed concern about a possible decline in consumer interest, and said that the company is "considering building a flexible supply system, including production in the U.S. mainland."
Japanese goods need to be sold by "emphasizing that there are no alternatives" to them, said Kazuhito Yamashita, senior researcher at the Canon Institute for Global Strategies.
Many Japanese goods are currently under a blanket 10% tariff that applies to all economies, while the country-specific part of the reciprocal tariffs has been suspended.
Yamashita said that if the suspension is lifted, some Japanese products may be put at a disadvantage compared with goods from other countries. He noted the need to closely monitor other countries' negotiations with the United States.