U.S. Red Meat Losing Ground in Japan It is the first day of the fiscal year in Japan, and duties on beef, pork and other commodities dropped under both the Japan-EU Economic Policy Agreement (EPA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) for exporting countries that are competitors to the U.S. The effective dates for the first rounds of tariff reductions under the EPA and the CPTPP were 1 February and 30 December 2018, respectively, and the second rounds were put in place today. That puts the U.S. at the following tariff rate disadvantages:

11.9 percent on chilled and frozen beef muscle cuts 7.1 percent on beef tongues and skirt meat 3.4 percent on pork sausage 4.2 percent on hams and bac...