U.S. worried about Japan's farm curbs

TOKYO, Japan -- U.S. President George W. Bush will likely discuss Japan's emergency curbs on farm goods when he visits Tokyo next month.

Bush is expected to raise Japan's use of curbs on agricultural imports in his summit with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Kyodo News service reported Monday.

Washington became concerned after developments last year, when Japan sparked a trade war with China by slapping restrictions on shipments of Chinese leeks, shiitake mushrooms and tatami-mat rushes. Japan said the curbs were necessary as temporary protection for its farmers.

The United States is concerned that its farm goods will suffer the same treatment.

Bush will use the February summit to push Koizumi to break ranks from politicians who have strong ties to the farm lobby, the Kyodo report states, citing unnamed government sources.

Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party has deep ties to Japan's powerful farm lobby, with many LDP politicians depending on rural areas for their power base.

U.S. worried it will get same treatment

Japan and the United States have some of the most restrictive markets for farm goods in the world.

But the United States has pushed Japan to be flexible on the issue.

Bush sent a letter to Koizumi before the World Trade Organization's meeting in November in Qatar, asking Japan to make sure farm goods did not disrupt efforts to launch new trade talks.

On his Tokyo trip, Bush is almost sure to raise U.S. concerns over the Japanese economy with Koizumi. Bad bank loans and entrenched deflation bedevil attempts to revive Japan, second only to the United States in economic might.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill called last week for "decisive actions" to tackle Japan's problems during his official visit to Tokyo.

Bush will visit the Japanese capital from February 17-19, making up for a visit he cancelled last October in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Japan and China settled a nine-month trade war in December, with Japan promising not to install full four-year curbs on those Chinese goods. China in turn dropped punitive tariffs that it had placed on shipments of Japanese cars, cell phones and air conditioners.