An historic Pacific free trade deal will transform Australia and usher a new era of economic growth, the Federal Government predicts.
After five years of negotiation, the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership was finalised overnight to establish the world’s largest trade deal.
Trade Minister Andrew Robb says the deal contains “pages and pages of benefits” and will make Australia more competitive, create jobs and boost living standards.
Besides boosting trade with the US, it will open up new markets to Vietnam, Malaysia, Chile and Canada, and usher in a new era of economic growth and opportunity across the fast-growing Asia-Pacific.
READ MORE: Trans-Pacific Partnership – What you need to know
Service providers, miners and manufacturers will see tariffs slashed and new markets opened up.
Farmers will get a major boost with tariffs reduced or cut for beef, dairy, wine, sugar, rice, horticulture and seafood in a number of markets.
Beef producers will see tariffs cut by another nine per cent and for the first time in decades rice growers can send more product to Japan.
Canegrowers will see market access for sugar to the US double.
However Robb concedes the extra 65,000 tonne base quota increase for sugar was not as much as he expected.
“We were disappointed, I couldn’t get as much as I wanted,” he told ABC TV on Tuesday, but added there was potential for further growth.
The deal will not make any changes to the five-year data protection for biologic medicines, another major sticking point which had delayed negotiations.
Robb has promised the price of generic medicines won’t increase.
“The day after this deal comes into effect, the health system will be not one iota different to the way it was before the deal was done.”
The minister expects the deal to come into effect mid-2016, with most countries including Australia to ratify the deal in their respective parliaments.
But he’s confident it will get up given the opportunities for the region.
It will also complement Australia’s trade deals with Korea, Japan and China.
“We have set up Australia for massive diversification and wonderful opportunities in both jobs and growth ahead,” Robb said.
Labor says it will examine details of the deal closely, especially investor-state dispute resolution provisions which could open up Australia to litigation on decisions such as plain cigarette packaging.
“We look forward to seeing how robust those protections are,” opposition trade spokeswoman Penny Wong told ABC radio.
The Australian Greens are sceptical about the deal’s benefits, pointing to US research showing there would be a zero-net benefit to the Australian economy.
“That’s why the minister has been under significant pressure not to trade away our rights,” trade spokesman Peter Whish-Wilson said.
– AAP
