ASEAN free trade deal flawed, says Opposition

The Age,  Philip Hopkins,  March 14, 2009 

AUSTRALIA has given away more than it has received in the ASEAN free trade agreement, according to the Opposition trade spokesman Warren Truss. 

Under the FTA, Australia will reduce 96.4 per cent of its tariffs to zero by next year compared with 47.6 per cent now. By 2025, tariffs will be eliminated on 96 per cent of Australian exports to the region. 

Mr Truss said market access for some key Australian industries would never be improved. 

Australian tariffs on agricultural imports would be cut to zero immediately, but Australian farmers would still face big tariff barriers. 

"Rice has been excluded from any tariff reduction commitments or improved market access by Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines," Mr Truss said. 

Maize had been excluded by Indonesia, which with Malaysia had excluded wine and spirits; Vietnam excluded 41 mineral lines; and Malaysia would continue to restrict access to milk. 

"Most of the signatories made no concessions on sugar at all," he said. 

Mr Truss said the only tit-for-tat tariff cuts had been in manufacturing, such as passenger cars and textiles, clothing and footwear, but improvements in access for services were few. 

National Farmers' Federation chief executive Ben Fargher said the rice and sugar restrictions were disappointing. Access for these commodities was difficult to crack. 

However, he said a key advantage was that the FTA prevented backsliding by ASEAN countries on tariffs. 

Under World Trade Organisation rules, technically they could increase tariffs above 200 per cent. "That is not likely to happen," he said. That should give exporters, particularly beef and dairy, confidence. 

He said the deal would keep the ASEAN market more liberal just as Europe was reimposing some agricultural subsidies. 

http://www.dfat.gov.au 

http://www.nff.org.au