Nikkei, Yomiuri, and Sankei reported on Finance Ministry data showing that Canadian beef imports soared in January to 2,715 tons, five times higher than the previous year, owing to the effectuation of the TPP in late December, which resulted in the reduction in the import tariff from 38.5% to 27.5%. Beef imports from New Zealand tripled to 2,319 tons, while Mexican and Australian imports also increased by about 40% to 1,182 tons and 26,737 tons, respectively. Japan’s overall beef imports from TPP members jumped by 50% to 33,000 tons. Sankei wrote that although U.S. beef imports also rose 21% last month, the Trump administration may step up pressure on Japan to accommodate more American products in view of the growing popularity of beef from other nations.