March 5, 2014
Deputy Prime Minister and Member for Wide Bay Warren Truss told the annual ABARES Outlook conference in Canberra today that building stronger trade relationships with Asia was a key part of the Federal Government’s plan to build a strong, prosperous Australia.
“We cannot afford to miss the opportunity to drive our comparative advantages in food production to help our agriculture sector become the ‘food bowl of Asia’,” Mr Truss said in his keynote speech.
“Australia has recently concluded negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with the Republic of Korea, our third-largest goods export market and fourth-largest trading partner.
“As part of the agreement, tariffs of up to 500 per cent will be eliminated on key Australian agricultural exports such as beef, wheat, malting barley, sugar, dairy, wine, horticulture and seafood, as well as resources, energy and manufactured goods.
“These outcomes are comparable to the commitments Korea has provided to the United States of America and the European Union.
“We are also committed to strengthening other trading relationships within our region by working to conclude negotiations with Japan and China as soon as possible.
“Our negotiations with Japan will help to manage its food security objectives, and negotiations with China offer the opportunity to tap into a growing middle-class and the demand for the high-quality agricultural products that Australia is known for.”
- Download the full-text of Mr Truss’ speech (88kb PDF)
