コメ輸入関税、無税枠を大幅削減＝日米貿易協定、来週署名へ

　日米両政府は、来週にも米ニューヨークで首脳会談を開き、２国間の貿易協定に署名する。日本は環太平洋連携協定（ＴＰＰ）から離脱前の米国に対し最大７万トンに上るコメの無関税輸入枠を設定。今回の貿易協定では国内農家に配慮し、枠撤廃も視野に大幅削減する方向で調整しており、首脳会談で正式に結論を出す。小麦や牛肉など農産物市場開放は、ＴＰＰと同水準にとどめる見通しだ。
　日米は首脳会談で共同声明も出す見通し。茂木敏充外相は１７日の会見で、米が検討する日本車への追加関税について、「課さないと改めて確認する。何らかの文書を考える」と表明。声明の中で、追加関税や輸入数量制限の回避の確約を取り付けたい考えだ。（2019/09/17-20:50）

Talks are being held to sharply cut, or even scrap, Japan's planned zero-tariff import quota for U.S. rice in a proposed bilateral trade agreement, in consideration of Japanese farmers, informed sources have said.
   Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump will draw a conclusion on the matter when they meet and sign the accord in New York next week, the sources said.
   The two sides are also expected to release a joint statement after the bilateral summit.
   At a press conference on Tuesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said he wants to "reconfirm" that Japanese automobiles will not be subject to Washington's additional tariffs planned for national security reasons, indicating Tokyo's hope that the envisaged joint statement will show Washington's pledge not to introduce the add-on tax or set a limit on the number of Japanese automobiles imported to the United States.
   During the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership multilateral free trade pact, which took effect late last year, after Washington's withdrawal from the TPP framework in early 2017, Japan agreed to introduce a zero-tariff import quota for U.S. rice and expand the amount to 70,000 tons in stages over 13 years.