The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA) has been delivering tangible benefits to Australian businesses since entering into force in 2010.
In order to ensure AANZFTA remains up-to-date and relevant for business, the Agreement contains a provision for the member countries to review the Agreement. At a meeting of the AANZFTA Economic Ministers in August 2016 in Vientiane, Lao PDR, the 12 AANZFTA countries endorsed the Terms of Reference for Conducting the General Review of AANZFTA [PDF 115 KB], and agreed to begin the review in 2017.
At their meeting in September 2017 in Manila, Philippines, Ministers welcomed the AANZFTA General Review Stage One Report, assessing implementation of the Agreement to date, and tasked officials to release a public version.
AANZFTA General Review - Stage One Report (public version - October 2017) [PDF 1.8 MB]
For Stage Two of the Review, officials provided recommendations to Ministers on 1 September 2018. Ministers endorsed the recommendations to guide negotiations to upgrade the Agreement, including in the areas of rules of origin, customs procedures (to include trade facilitation), services, investment, e-commerce, competition (to include consumer protection) and government procurement. Ministers also endorsed a recommendation on trade and sustainable development. Officials released a public version of the recommendations.
AANZFTA General Review - recommendations (public version) [PDF 192 KB]
The Ministers tasked officials to commence implementation of the recommendations in the first half of 2019 with a view to concluding text of a second protocol to amend AANZFTA within an expeditious timeframe. The outcomes should ensure the Agreement retains its relevance to business and adds value to developments in other fora including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations. For further information on the outcomes of the 1 September 2018 meeting, see News.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade received public submissions from stakeholders on the General Review of AANZFTA.