Japan will withdraw a trade agreement in favor of Russia

Japan plans to withdraw pro-Russian trade treatment as part of sanctions adopted against Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, as announced by the Japanese government on Wednesday.

Japanese spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference today: “As the G7 statement pointed out, we have decided to take measures to eliminate the trade treatment status in favor of Russia, and we are ready to take further action on products imported from Russia.

The spokesperson added that “appropriate measures will be taken” in this context, without specifying exactly when Japan will begin the procedure for removing Russia's favorable position. To do this, the National Assembly will have to adopt legislative amendments.

The “Most preferred country” clause is an agreement established to ensure the prohibition of trade discrimination between the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Obtaining this status means that if a country is granted a special advantage, such as a reduction in tariffs on certain products, it is necessary to do the same with other members, with exceptions.

Russia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2012, and as one of the 164 member states, Japan, like other participating countries, was applying the same tariff rate to its territory on Russian imports.

According to local media, Japan's decision to withdraw without preferential status will mainly affect the import of products such as fish and seafood.

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Japan's imports of these products from Russia were 1381 billion yen (about 1.06 billion euros) in 2021, with about 8.6% of the total, the third highest rate after China (18.1%) and Chile (8.9%).

The total amount of imports from Russia to Japan amounted to 15 trillion yen (1156 billion euros) last year.

The rates for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal, which are the main Russian imports of Japan, were zero even before preferential treatment, and for the time being, the government will not consider changing it due to energy dependence and participation in farms by Japanese companies.

Japan's energy self-sufficiency is currently around 11%, and its supply depends heavily on the outside.

Despite the fact that in 2021 only 3.6% of Japanese crude oil imports and 8.8% of LNG imports came from Russia, Japanese companies have strong ties with energy projects in neighboring countries, especially Sakhalin energy projects.

(Including information from EFE)

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