Australia has concluded nine bilateral and regional trade agreements:
- Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) 2015
- Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) 2014
- Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA) 2013
- ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) 2010
- Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement (AClFTA) 2009
- Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) 2005
- Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) 2005
- Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) 2003
- Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA) 1983
Australia has signed one agreement which will enter into force once domestic processes for both parties are complete:
- China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA), signed June 2015.
Negotiations have concluded on the biggest global trade deal in 20 years:
- Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiations were with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, USA and Vietnam (negotiations concluded October 2015).
Australia is undertaking FTA negotiations with:
- India
- Indonesia
- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership members (ASEAN, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and New Zealand)
- Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus members (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu)
- The Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates)
More information on Australia's FTAs can be found at: www.fta.gov.au
FTA negotiations
FTAs secure better market access to help Australian businesses, improve our international competitive position, reduce import costs for Australian businesses and consumers alike, and increase prospects for two-way investment.
FTAs can cover entire regions with multiple participants or link just two economies. Under these agreements, parties enter into legally binding commitments to liberalise access to each others' markets for goods and services, and investment. FTAs also typically address a range of other issues such as intellectual property rights, government procurement and competition policy.
High-quality, comprehensive FTAs can play an important role in supporting global trade liberalisation, and are explicitly allowed for under the WTO rules. The Australian Government will not enter into any trade agreement that falls short of the benchmarks set by the WTO or the benchmarks we set ourselves of high quality, truly liberalising trade deals that support global trade liberalisation.
The countries covered by the FTAs that Australia currently has in force or signed, accounted for 67 per cent of our total trade in 2014.
ChAFTA was signed in June 2015, and will enter into force once domestic processes for both parties are complete. Trade with China accounted for 23 per cent of Australia's total trade in 2014.
An additional 7.4 per cent of Australia's total trade occurs with countries with which we are currently negotiating FTAs.
For more information visit: www.fta.gov.au