China to Australia Free Trade Agreement
Taiwan and Hong Kong [thematic link page: Australia and Australians in Greater China] have recently expressed interest in signing free trade agreements with Australia. The Australian government has not acceded to invitations from both regions to open negotiations. It is claimed that the ministry`s resources will be fully utilized in other trade deals, but commentators suspect that political sensitivities mean that Canberra will not begin such negotiations until CHAFTA is completely completed. The Abbott government trumpeted chaftA as a “historic” development that took Australia-China relations to a “different level,” and the media hailed it as “the deal of a lifetime for the Australian economy.” Robb described chaFTA as the most advanced bilateral free trade agreement with China “by far” and the “best of all time” in the services sector. (It is hoped that CHAFTA will help diversify trade between Australia and China away from resources and energy.) China`s benefits to Australia include the elimination of tariffs on ninety-five per cent of exports – including dairy, beef, lamb, seafood, wine and raw materials – and unique privileged market access for education service providers, finance, healthcare, law and tourism. In return, Australia pledged to lift tariffs on all Chinese imports, allow Chinese companies to import skilled labour that is not available in Australia, and raise the screening threshold for Chinese private investment from A$248 million to A$1.08 billion. In March 2015, it was reported that China had granted Australia “most-favoured-nation” status in CHAFTA, meaning that Australia automatically benefits from any extension of trade benefits that China grants to others. Australia was the first country to launch a bilateral free trade process with China, with talks starting in May 2005 following a joint feasibility study and Australia`s decision to grant China “market economy status” under World Trade Organization rules. At the time, it was estimated that a pure free trade and goods agreement would contribute $18 billion to bilateral GDP over a ten-year period. But the talks ended in a stalemate from mid-2007, and a formal agreement on chaFTA did not take place until after twenty-one rounds of negotiations. Finally, Australia and China signed on 17 September. In November 2014, after a number of other countries and regions, a Memorandum of Understanding to conclude the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (CHAFTA). However, King argued that the coalition had an “attitude of firmness and forgetfulness towards free trade agreements” where agreements were not accompanied by adequate monitoring and relationship building.
Dr Jeffrey Wilson, research director at the Perth USAsia Centre, said the free trade agreement signed by the Abbott government in 2015 was “not worth the paper it is written on today” given the steps Beijing is taking. The phase one trade deal between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump is “the other disruptive factor” in the current environment, she said, because it forces China to buy a certain amount of goods from the United States, “which means they won`t buy this from us or anyone else.” The two countries signed a free trade agreement in 2015 that reduced tariffs and improved access to dozens of goods. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the government would continue to provide “all possible support we can provide at the administrative, diplomatic and political levels to ensure that our exporters retain the kind of market access they should have to China.” The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) entered into force on December 20, 2015. Australia`s Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb, a signatory to the ChAFTA, said: “This historic agreement with our largest trading partner will support future economic growth, job creation and a higher standard of living through increased trade in goods and services and investment. China, with its population of 1.4 billion and rapidly growing middle class, offers huge opportunities for Australian businesses in the future. CUTA Secretary Sally McManus questioned whether Chafta had lived up to its initial hype and called for the renegotiation of elements of the deal. There will be a work and holiday agreement in which Australia will issue up to 5,000 visas to Chinese nationals for work and leisure travellers. [7] The free trade agreement was signed between the two countries in Canberra, Australia, on June 17, 2015. [4] The agreement will follow the usual treaty process, after which it will enter into force when China completes its domestic legal and legislative procedures, and in Australia review by the Australian Parliament`s Standing Joint Committee on Treaties and the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References. [4] China buys more than a third of Australia`s exports and accounts for 27% of bilateral trade. Trade questions began shortly after Australia criticized China`s response to the coronavirus pandemic and called for a global investigation into its origins.
Analysts say this has exacerbated existing tensions. As a result, Chinese demands for better access to investment and more short-term work visas have proven unpopular and politically inedible for the coalition and Labor governments in Australia. The free trade agreement has also faced fierce opposition from Australian manufacturing and trade unions, who fear competition from cheap Chinese products and labour. In mid-2012, the stalemate in the negotiations prompted then-Commerce Secretary Craig Emerson to announce that Australia would only seek a partial free trade agreement focused on agriculture. However, when Kevin Rudd replaced Julia Gillard as prime minister in July 2013, he redefined the priorities for signing a comprehensive free trade agreement. Labour`s trade spokeswoman Madeleine King also strongly backed the Morrison administration`s plan to take China to the World Trade Organization over barley tariffs – a move trade experts have warned could take up to three years to resolve. .