President Trump on Thursday signed an order to implement a trade agreement with Japan that is expected to raise U.S. agricultural sales by $8 billion annually. Over the past five years, Japan has averaged just under $12.9 billion in annual purchases of U.S. farm goods.
The White House emphasized the broader impact of the deal, stating, “Critically, unlike any other agreement in American history, the Government of Japan has agreed to invest $550 billion in the United States.” The investments will be directed by the U.S. government and are projected to “generate hundreds of thousands of United States jobs, expand domestic manufacturing, and secure American prosperity for generations.”
On the agricultural side, the order detailed that “the government of Japan is working toward an expedited implementation of a 75% increase of United States rice procurements within the minimum access rice scheme and purchases of United States agricultural goods, including corn, soybeans, fertilizer, bioethanol (including for sustainable aviation fuel), as well as other United States products, in amounts totaling $8 billion per year.”
