Australia signs free ASEAN trade agreement
Leaders from Australia, the ten member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and New Zealand have signed the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), which will not only open up the market to greater trade but includes a commitment to resolve specific bilateral market access issues.
This is the largest Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Australia has ever signed which will reduce or eliminate tariffs on trade with the region. The FTA opens doors for Australian trade with Asia and highlights Western Australia’s attractiveness for inward investment, as it provides an ideal gateway to Asian markets. Western Australia boasts an open, dynamic economy built on strong international investment.
Western Australia is close to the Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean Rim markets sharing the same time zone with most of the nations in the region. These are the world’s fastest growing economic regions, housing almost two thirds of the world’s population.
Australia’s two-way trade with the ASEAN region is worth A$80 billion (£40.5 billion) a year and currently around 18,500 Australian exporters doing business in ASEAN countries.
AANZFTA will over time eliminate tariffs on between 90 and 100 per cent of tariff lines, covering 96 per cent of current Australian exports to the region. These tariff reductions will put in place a guarantee against sudden tariff surges and are an effective barrier against protectionist moves in the midst of the present economic crisis.
Minister for Trade Simon Crean said that Australia stands to gain from this agreement across many sectors, including exports of agricultural products, industrial goods and services.
Mr Crean said the Australian industrial sector had also been given an opportunity to expand exports into the ASEAN region. The Australian pharmaceutical industry, which already exports A$600 million worth of product each year to the region, will be operating in almost a completely free trade zone in ASEAN and in the chemical sector, most higher tariffs will be eliminated. For electrical machinery, almost all tariffs will be eliminated in our major markets.
Australia has also secured a good outcome on services, increasing certainty for exporters’ fields such as professional services, education, financial services and telecommunications as well as construction and mining services.
The State’s abundance of natural resources, entrepreneurial spirit and leading technologies has Western Australia well placed on the international stage and as an ideal investment location.
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