Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Japan becoming sister ports, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to talk trade Friday.

The meeting came on the 50th anniversary of the Port of Seattle and the Port of Kobe, Japan becoming sister ports.

Cantwell, Washington’s junior senator, told Abe she hoped the two countries would continue their strong alliance and advocated on behalf of Washington state’s farmers, ranchers and businesses.

“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sister port relationship between Kobe and Seattle, I was very pleased to discuss and reinforce our strong and productive relationship with the prime minister,” Cantwell said.

“Japan is a critically important market for Washington state for a wide range of products — everything from wheat and aviation to high speed transportation and technology,” she added. “We discussed our strong economic relationship, how to make it even more productive, and reinforced the importance of maintaining a strong U.S.-Japanese alliance.”

Although Japan is the third largest trading partner with Washington, Cantwell noted that farmers and ranchers face significant barriers to selling their products in the Japanese market.

Examples include Japan’s 5 percent tariff on pears, 9 percent tariff on cherries, 17 percent tariff on apples, and a 38.5 percent tariff on beef. Japan also has strict import quotas for U.S. wheat, allowing only 5.7 million tons of wheat into the country each year.

Yet Japan is the second-largest trading partner for the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, with two-way trade in 2016 equaling $17.4 billion.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that opening up markets in Japan could grow Washington state exports by 18.7 percent.

Cantwell and Abe also discussed important regional security ties.