China – Australia Free Trade Agreement .. we’re getting there..
It’s all about Free Trade deals with Australia at the moment. We’ve brought you the important news that the KAFTA (Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement) is currently on track for implementation in 2014. History is also in the making with the Japan-Australia Free Trade Agreement (JAPANFTA) currently on an implementation timeline.
Today it’s all about the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. This agreement negotiation is one of the most anticipated Free Trade Agreements currently on the table (or hovering near it). With China and Australia’s trade being worth AUD150.9 billion dollars in 2013, and a vast majority of Australia’s imports arriving from this country (not to mention the exports we send to them), we just know that this is the one FTA that you’ve been waiting for.
The Australian has reported the below recently on this subject:
AUSTRALIA is on track to sign a free-trade agreement with China at about the time of the G20 meeting in Brisbane, after the latest round of negotiations left senior ministers believing the deal can be clinched by the end of the year.
Tony Abbott and Chinese President Xi Xinping are due to meet twice in November, when a deal could be signed. They will meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Beijing and in Australia, where Mr Xi will attend the G20 and address parliament.
Trade Minister Andrew Robb said “solid progress’’ had been made at formal negotiations at the start of this month. But the Chinese were tough negotiators and there was a lot of work still to do. Australia continues to push to cut barriers to entry to the Chinese market for agriculture and services. China wants improved investment access, tariff reductions on household items such as electronics, and gains on people movements to Australia. However, this is likely to be within existing visa frameworks in areas of genuine skills shortage.
Mr Robb said that after almost a decade of negotiations he believed there was sufficient political will on both sides to finally conclude them. But there were no guarantees and the “business end’’ of trade negotiations was always the toughest.
If you would like to read the article in it’s entirety, head here.
So there it is. Whilst the negotiating is proving to be tough, both parties are making strong progress.
We will continue to keep you up-to-date on this important subject.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Image and Source credits: The Australian
