Can we give up rice to lower tariffs?···Frustration over 'public opinion campaign sacrificing agriculture'

Following the conclusion of the U.S.-Japan tariff negotiations on July 23, domestic reports have poured in. Citing Japan's negotiation example with the U.S., there have been arguments that Korea should also lower tariffs on cars in exchange for opening its agricultural market. However, these reports, which come at the beginning of the U.S.-Korea trade negotiations, differ from the actual negotiation content and are misleading the public by exaggerating the negotiation strategy as if agricultural market opening is inevitable. According to the office of Song Ok-ju, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and the National Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, and Food, Japan maintained its existing TRQ (Tariff Rate Quota) volume of 770,000 tons while increasing the import ratio of U.S. rice within that volume. In fact, the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries clarified in an interview with the Japanese media that "there will be no additional ...