New Year tariff cuts to improve Australian exports

Australian farmers and businesses will continue to reap the benefits of Australia’s free trade agreements with further tariff cuts set to boost Australia’s competitive advantage in two major export markets.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said the latest round of tariff cuts on 1 January under Australia’s trade agreements with China and Korea would build on the substantial economic benefits these two major agreements had already delivered for Australian exporters.

“China and Korea are two of our largest trading partners, and these tariff reductions will provide a significant boost for Australian businesses looking for export opportunities into these markets,” Birmingham said.

“With Australian goods exports to China already totalling $106 billion, this latest round of cuts means tariffs have now been eliminated on 5418 products and gives Australian exporters an even greater competitive edge in the Chinese market.

“For example, tariffs on Australian bottled wine exports to China have now been eliminated, unlocking further opportunities for our winemakers, whilst tariffs on a range of other exports including rock lobsters, shampoo, tomato sauce and cherries have also been eliminated.

“Our lamb producers are also big winners with further tariffs reductions of 2.2% on exports of fresh, chilled and frozen lamb to the booming South Korean market.”

Birmingham said trade had contributed over one-quarter of Australia’s economic growth over the past five years; trade surpluses have been recorded for 21 of the last 24 months.

This latest round of tariff cuts is the fifth under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) and the sixth under the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA).

Full details of the latest round of tariff cuts can be found on the FTA Portal (ftaportal.dfat.gov.au).

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Sjoerd van der Wal