Japan and the United States have agreed on proposed changes to Japan's quarantine requirements for imports of eight agricultural products, including apples and cherries, trade sources said Monday.
The move responds to a March 1999 ruling by the World Trade Organization that Japan's quarantine requirements for agricultural imports acted as trade barriers. The ruling was in line with a complaint filed with the world trade watchdog by the U.S.
Following the agreement, Tokyo and Washington notified the WTO's dispute panel of their decision, effectively ending their trade squabble, the sources said.
Under the agreement, Japan will streamline its quarantine system so that testing will be conducted for each agricultural product category instead of individual varieties within each category, such as the Fuji or Golden Delicious varieties in the case of apples.
Japan has conducted testing on every product variety in the eight categories for fear of insect pests that do not exist in Japan. But Washington said this quarantine practice lacks sufficient scientific evidence and demanded an overhaul.
By simplifying its quarantine needs, Japan could encourage more imports of those agricultural products, one trade source said.