What does the U.S. Agribusiness Industry Demand of Japan in the TPP Negotiations? : Problems revealed in the congressional hearings and the USTR public comment procedures

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to clarify how and in what way the U.S. agribusiness industry is asserting its influence in the process of policy making and negotiations on the Trans‐Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), by taking into account the characteristics of the procedures in the U.S. trade negotiations and business networks of influence and lobbying. Then, the paper will go on to delve into the detail of what the U.S. industry and trade organisations and individual corporations have actually been demanding during the TPP negotiations, particularly in relation to Japan's commitment to the agreement. The subtle divergences of interests among agribusiness subsectors will be taken into consideration when analysing the details of submitted comments and relevant statements. Although it is non‐agricultural issues such as the deregulation of the financial and service sectors, strengthening of intellectual property rights, enforcement of investor protection, and disciplining of government procurement rules that are the focus of many of documents and statements issued by cross‐sector business associations, the discussion in the paper is restricted to agriculture and food related industries.