LDP OKs draft support package for farmers hit by TPP, EPA

November 21, 2017

TOKYO- The Liberal Democratic Party approved Monday a final draft of a policy package to support Japanese farmers and companies that will be affected by the new Trans-Pacific Partnership deal and Japan's bilateral economic partnership agreement with the European Union.

The package includes a measure to strengthen dairy farmers, such as cheese producers, as imports of cheese and other farm products from the EU are expected to increase under the EPA broadly agreed on in July.

In the draft, the LDP also added measures to help the forestry industry and encourage more small companies to start business in Europe.

Measures in the package are expected to be financed with a supplementary budget for fiscal 2017 and the regular budget for fiscal 2018 for the time being.

The package, to be adopted by the government as early as Friday, will be a revised version of the government's comprehensive TPP measures released in November 2015.

The government earmarks funds for TPP measures every year since a fiscal 2015 supplementary budget although the multilateral trade pact has yet to take effect. Jiji Press