Fifth Meeting of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee

Summary of Outcomes

1. The fifth meeting of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) Joint Committee was convened virtually on 5 April 2022. The meeting was Co-Chaired by the Hon Dan Tehan, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Australia and Mr Yeo, Han-koo, Minister for Trade, the Republic of Korea (ROK).
2. The Co-Chairs welcomed the state visit by His Excellency Moon Jae-in, President of the ROK to Australia in December 2021 to meet with the Hon Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia. The Co-Chairs reaffirmed the commitments made by Leaders to continue enhancing existing strong economic ties through KAFTA and cooperation on strategic goals. 
3. The Joint Committee recognised our collaboration on regional trade rules, including with RCEP’s entry into force earlier this year for both our economies, consideration of CPTPP accession and discussions on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.  The Co-Chairs agreed to continue cooperation on shaping rules and standards that are consistent with KAFTA and that reflect Australia and the ROK’s shared values and economic interests.
4. The Co-Chairs welcomed increased dialogue and cooperation bilaterally on emerging areas such as digital trade, green economy and supply chains. The Co-Chairs discussed how these issues could be strengthened through existing and new cooperation channels. Australian Co-Chair Minister Tehan proposed an upgrade of KAFTA to reflect our shared priorities into the future.
5. The Joint Committee commended the strong two-way KAFTA tariff preference utilisation rate of 96 per cent for trade in goods in 2020. The committee recognised the importance of encouraging Australian and ROK businesses to maximise opportunities under KAFTA.
6. The Joint Committee noted the collaborative work of officials in both countries to support KAFTA's effective implementation. The Joint Committee reviewed the report from the last meeting of the Committee on Agricultural Cooperation held on 13 April 2021 and the Committee on Energy and Mineral Resources Cooperation held on 8-9 July 2021 and agreed to continue exploring areas of cooperation.
7. The Joint Committee discussed Australia’s request for flexible implementation of the beef safeguard measure by the ROK, the revisiting of the seasonal tariff arrangements to better reflect production seasons, and Australia’s dairy export competitiveness.  
8. The Co-Chairs commended the establishment of new cooperation mechanisms for carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), critical minerals, hydrogen and other low emissions technologies on the occasion of the summit visit in December 2021 to pursue mutual interests.
9. The Joint Committee noted that planning was underway to convene a meeting of the Working Group on Professional Services (WGPS) in the third quarter of 2022. The Australian and ROK Co-Chairs both noted the potential for further efforts through the WGPS to improve the mutual recognition of qualifications and support the mobility of professional service providers.
10. The Co-Chairs discussed the progress of Product Specific Rules (PSR) Transposition work and agreed to ensure that PSRs will be updated to reflect HS 2022.
11. The Co-Chairs discussed the ROK’s domestic processes to formally apply to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). ROK Co-Chair Minister Yeo stated that the ROK would be interested in applying once all domestic processes were completed. Australian Co-Chair Minister Tehan re-affirmed that Australia welcomed the ROK’s interest in accession to the CPTPP and said that a review of KAFTA could be used to pave the way for the ROK’s CPTPP accession process.
12. The Joint Committee discussed the forward agenda. The Co-Chairs recognised the importance of bilateral collaboration amidst an evolving trade environment, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, and committed to explore opportunities and continue cooperation in strategic areas including the green economy, supply chains, agriculture such as food security, climate change, preventing disease, and digital trade.