Japan Rebuts U.S. Criticism of "700 Pct" Rice Tariff

Tokyo, March 14 (Jiji Press)--Japanese agriculture minister Taku Eto on Friday rebutted the U.S. government's criticism that Japan imposes "700 pct" tariffs on rice imports.

The criticism, made by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier this week, was "based on a standard from long ago," Eto said at a press conference, stressing that the remark did not reflect the current situation.

"We don't take the comment as an official request" but "take it in a cautious way," he added.

Japan has a tariff-free quota for rice imports, while imposing a tariff of 341 yen per kilogram of polished rice outside the quota.

Eto reiterated that Japan should not be subject to the current U.S. administration's tariff measures on agricultural goods.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]