“Australia and China will sign a historical Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after the G20 Summit in Brisbane. Senator Bill Heffernan warned that the FTA could be a disaster for the country without proper protections. Will Australian farmers benefit from the FTA?”
A Free Trade Agreement:
A Free Trade Agreements (here in referred to as FTA), is designed to reduce or remove any barriers of trade between two trading partners. These barriers can be in the form of tariffs and import quotas on some, or all goods traded between two countries. When negotiating a FTA, it is important for both countries to negotiate in favor of their comparative advantage/s, as it enables both countries to reap the most benefits out of the arrangement.
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It will also look at what foreign trade laws Australian exporters will need to consider before embarking on a trade relationship with China and what the flow on affects of a successful trade relationship are for the rest of the economy.
Why Australia entered into a FTA with China and what this means for Australian farmers.
Since 2009, China has been Australia’s primary trading partner for both imports and exports. Trading goods and services valued at more than $150 billion in 2013 and exporting up to $95 billion in 2013. China is also Australia’s largest source of goods imports, in 2013 Australia imported $47 billion in Chinese goods.
In relation to agriculture, China purchases more agriculture produce than any other market in the world and is predicted to account for 43 percent of world wide agriculture demand by 2050. Therefore, the China Australia FTA, puts Australian farmers in good stead to reap the benefits of what is predicted to be a continually growing and booming export market in China for many years to come.
In 2010, Australia exported approximately 25 percent of total exports to China. Of this amount, 11 percent came from Australia’s agriculture industry. Wool exports in particular, hold a strong position in the Chinese import market, with wool being third in line when it comes to Australia’s largest agriculture exports to China, after wheat and beef. In 2011, wool accounted for 9 percent of Australian agricultural
Since Australia’s first free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand in 1983, Bilateral and Multilateral FTA’s have been a great advantage and focus in securing economic prosperity for Australia. Australia’s two-way trade in goods and services was A$616 bn in 2012. Australia has seven FTAs currently in force with New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, US, Chile, ASEAN (with New Zealand) and Malaysia. Together, these countries account for 28% of Australia’s total trade, which displays the great benefit of bilateral FTAs to the Australian economy. Additionally, there are four bilateral FTA negotiations currently in place, two of which are substantial trading partners; China, being Australia’s largest export market (A$78.7 bn) and Japan, being Australia’s second largest export market (A$49.8 bn). The Japanese Free Trade Agreement has been negotiated, and will be a great benefit to the Australian economy, especially the agricultural sector, for example tariffs on beef
China has, for a sustained period of time, been one of Australia's most important trade and economic partners. But this has not always been the case. Since the late 1970s China has moved from a closed, internal focused economy to more of a global market oriented one that plays a major part in other nations economies, like Australia's. Although China is technically a Socialist nation, market capitalism is actively encouraged, much the same as in Australia. In 2010 China became the world's largest exporter, with exports ranging from natural resources to manufactured goods. (CIA-World fact book) Australia's economy, in this sense, differs from that of China's. As Australia is simply too expensive to manufacture goods ("Holden, Ford,
Another prospect is Australia’s mineral resources. Australia is predicted to be holding much of iron ore, coal etc. This means that we are on top of vast resources that can be sold to other countries. Japan would benefit as it purchases a large amount of our coal and iron ore. This advantage could also be used to lever a FTA with the Japanese. The infinite capabilities of Japanese technology would allow Australia to keep up with the world in many areas. Of course, most of these are technologically related.
The Buying and selling, importing and exporting of goods and services, between two or more countries that have no limits or quotas or barriers or unbalanced tariffs is the dictionary definition for a free trade agreement (FTA). There are both advantages and disadvantages attached to FTA’s which is shown in figure 8.0.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation was founded in 1989 with the aim to manage the growing interconnection and trade between the 21 members and to improve the economic and political links. The APEC is assisting to reduce the costs of importing and exporting goods between the Asia-Pacific countries. The members of the APEC include Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong-China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States, and Vietnam. Together these nations improve the trade between the Asia-Pacific. China still remains Australia’s biggest trading partner. Since Australia’s trade links with the Asia-Pacific have grown, trade accounts for over 42% of the GDP (compared to only 32% in 1990 when relations with the Asia-Pacific were not as strong). Australian trade policies and agreements are focussed primarily on the Asia-Pacific region as eight of the largest export markets are found there. Australia has realised that the Asia-Pacific region is the most important area for trade as geographically it is close and it holds manufactured goods that Australia needs. Members of the APEC now hold over 70% of Australia’s total exporting and importing of goods and services. The rise of China’s influence on the world due to such advances in technology has influenced Australia to trade more with countries around the Asia-Pacific. Australia’s continued trading with the Asia-Pacific has helped to push Australia’s economic
Last year Australia imported $287.8 billion in goods from China, up from $51.5 billion a decade ago, according to the Australian Commerce Department (Asia Education, The University of Melbourne 2005). Although Australia is importing its many goods from china and reducing the cost, Australia also have to consider the unemployment rate and safety issues with these imported goods from Asia.
This essay analyses the Australian-China bilateral relationship since 1945 and in particular its political significance to Australia. Many global factors have influenced this relationship, including the advent of the Cold War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the collapse of the Soviet bloc European nations. In addition, internal political changes in Australia and China have both affected and been affected by the global changes. It will be analysed that Australia’s bilateral relationship with China has always had a sharp political edge but that approaching the new millenium economics and trade considerations are shaping Australias and for that matter Chinese politics.
of markets, including the auto industry, and in the spotlight, the dairy and beef markets.
Australia’s political view has been recognized by other countries as a strong market leader and a valuable country to have free trade agreements with. All Australians can see that this is a huge benefit to the Australian economy. An increase in trade agreements means more jobs and security for the
Australia has several ties with other countries. These ties are established in several ways, one of which is through trade. The nature of trade includes exporting and importing goods and services which form trade links with partner countries. Trade comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Australia also takes part in multilateral agreements, such as APEC, to be able to strengthen trade links.
Australia’s main trading partners are China, Japan, the United States, Republic of Korea and Singapore. Nearly half of Australia’s trade activity in terms of imports and exports are with these 5 countries alone. Particularly with the recent growth of the Chinese economy, Australia’s chief trading partner, the country has seen growth in its exports. However very recently the growth of the Chinese economy has been slowing which is a risk to Australian exports.
The development in the progress of China, India and Indonesia benefits Australia and contributes significantly to regional stability which extends opportunities for a successful and reciprocating business partnership instead of being aid dependent. Australia’s economical national interest is directly linked to the success, stability and peaceful interactions of its neighbours because these countries are also the first line of defence against many negative issues which could affect Australia (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2016c). If these states remain to be wealthy and stable, they will respond better to efficiently to threats and complications in trade. In order to benefit from the trading relationships with the neighbouring countries, Australia needs to take advantage of the international economic opportunities and ensure we are focused on advancing in global economic, financial, investment and trade institutions. A globally integrated economy is crucial due to the growth which can be gained from an open trading system and foreign direct investment which secures our position in the economically advancing countries of the world and our own financial welfare (Wong 2017).
In 1994, the leaders of the thirty-four democratic countries of the Western Hemisphere launched the process of creating a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The FTAA will be established by 2010 with the aim of gradually eradicating barriers to trade and investment in the region. The final characteristics of the FTAA will be determined through negotiations by government officials from the thirty-four participating countries. The trade issues that are presently under discussion are: market access; investment; services; government procurement; dispute settlement; agriculture; intellectual property; antidumping, subsidies and countervailing duties; and competition policy. Guiding principles for these negotiations
Since 1993, China has experienced uninterrupted trade supplies and in 2013, China has overtaken the US as the world’s largest trading nation. As an economy highly integrated into the global trade system, the country benefited from a steady improvement in its term of trade since 2000. The country has multiple bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that opened new markets for its product. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between China and ASEAN nations which came into effect in the beginning of 2010, created the world’s third largest free trade area in terms of nominal GDP. China established FTA with nations like Korea, Peru, Pakistan, Singapore and etc.
The structure of those in charge of oversight for the FTA is the United States-Israel Bilateral Joint Committee. This group is tasked with providing structure for discussing the enhancement of trade and issues of mutual concern and is headed by the United States Trade Representative and the Foreign Trade Administration of Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor. This group meets annually and operates on a broad mandate that has allowed trade to be further liberalized in agricultural products and establish cooperation on standardization. A meeting of the group in December of 2009 demonstrates the committee’s method of operation as they met to exchange views on issues and concerns related to agricultural market access and