U.S. President George W. Bush will likely raise the issue of agricultural import curbs when he meets Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo in mid-February, government sources said Monday.
In April, Japan slapped safeguard import curbs in April on stone leeks, shiitake and rushes used in tatami mats, three farm products mainly imported from China, because domestic producers claimed they were being damaged. Washington fears the same fate awaits U.S. products and wishes to prevent a fresh trade dispute from erupting between the two countries, they said.
Bush is expected to try to persuade Koizumi to ignore pressure from lawmakers with vested interests in agriculture, the sources said.