<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><b class="">"One person familiar with the situation said the Biden administration planned to remove the [anti-whaling] provision because of Japan’s opposition."</b></i></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Yikes. Seems like a more opportune time than expected to plug the Trade Justice Education Fund’s <b class="">“Orcanize for Trade Justice</b>” stickers:</div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><a href="https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/donate-to-receive-your-orcanize-sticker/?link_id=4&can_id=3c63c0c564e658d7d019c20cd1594078" class="">https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/donate-to-receive-your-orcanize-sticker/?link_id=4&can_id=3c63c0c564e658d7d019c20cd1594078</a> </div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><br class=""></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">=======</span></b></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><br class=""></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/bad6fb05-8836-4f9e-9b71-1a5183be816c%201/3" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ft.com/content/bad6fb05-8836-4f9e-9b71-1a5183be816c%25201/3&source=gmail&ust=1692455619782000&usg=AOvVaw0Noy-tFp7RGo9CnM6qK6el" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" class="">https://www.ft.com/content/<wbr class="">bad6fb05-8836-4f9e-9b71-<wbr class="">1a5183be816c 1/3</a></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Financial Times<b class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><b class="">US-Japan whaling spat threatens Indo-Pacific trade deal<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and Kana Inagaki in Tokyo</span></i></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">8/17/23, 3:01 PM <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The US is embroiled in a spat about whaling with Japan that threatens its main trade<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">initiative in Asia just as President Joe Biden prepares to host his Japanese and South<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Korean counterparts for a historic trilateral summit.<br class=""><br class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The US trade representative has been pushing Japan to accept anti-whaling language<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a 14-country trade deal Biden launched in<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Tokyo last year in an effort to counter China economically in Asia, according to eight<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">people familiar with the situation.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The US pressure has sparked anger in Tokyo, with some officials suggesting that<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Japan could walk away from an agreement that it backed to encourage American<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">economic engagement in the region.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">One senior Japanese official said the issue was such a non-starter for Tokyo that the<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">government didn’t even consider it as “an issue of contention”. He said Japan would<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">not participate in IPEF if the agreement included any language banning whaling.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">It has also exposed divisions in the US administration, with some officials opposing<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">the approach taken by USTR, according to several sources.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The White House and USTR declined to comment. Noriyuki Shikata, spokesperson for<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">the Japanese prime minister’s office, said Tokyo would refrain from commenting<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">because negotiations were ongoing.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">One person familiar with the situation said the Biden administration planned to<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">remove the provision because of Japan’s opposition.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Commercial whaling was banned by the International Whaling Commission in 1986.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Japan previously got around the ban via a clause that allowed whales to be killed “for<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">purposes of scientific research”, which sparked criticism from conservationists and<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">other IWC members.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Japan pulled out of the IWC in 2019 and has since only allowed whales to be caught<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">inside its exclusive economic zone. Its whaling industry has struggled to make a profit<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">without subsidies for research, while public tastes have also changed.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">But the issue remains politically sensitive in Tokyo, which has led some US officials to<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">argue that Washington should focus on making sure it finishes IPEF and avoid issues<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">that threaten the deal.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Christopher Johnstone, a former US government Japan expert now at the CSIS think-tank,<br class="">said the logic of including restrictions on whaling in the trade pillar of IPEF was “dubious at best”.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“IPEF is already an initiative of questionable value, and most US partners, including Japan, are<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">participating only because they are desperate for US economic engagement in the region,” said Johnstone.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“Using IPEF to seek restrictions on whaling makes no sense and only serves to alienate Japan, the partner<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Washington needs more than any other if IPEF is to yield results.”<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Tokyo was instrumental in helping the Biden administration launch IPEF, encouraging Washington to work<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">with south-east Asian partners to ensure broader participation in the agreement.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Japan and other countries are supporting the effort partly because they hope it will<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">lead to the US joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership,<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">a big trade agreement that Tokyo salvaged after then-president Donald Trump pulled out of its predecessor.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">One person familiar with the talks said USTR initially pushed for language that would entail a complete ban on whaling.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">He said it later softened its approach, but that Japan remained adamant it would not support a deal that included any restrictions.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“It was a bit surprising that the US would put whaling on the table in a negotiation where it needs Japan’s undivided attention<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">to help reach successful conclusion by November,” said Wendy Cutler, a former top USTR negotiator who is now<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">vice-president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The rare dispute between the close allies comes as Biden prepares to host Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida and<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol for a summit at the Camp David retreat on August 18.</span></div><div class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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