THE completion of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal will secure modest but important gains for the Australian dairy industry, Australian Dairy Industry Council (ADIC) chairman Noel Campbell says.
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Mr Campbell said early analysis of the deal with 12 countries indicated it would improve opportunities in key export markets including Japan.
The TPP is a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Japan, the United States, Vietnam, Mexico and Canada.
Mr Campbell said.the TPP was another milestone in a historic period of increased trade liberalisation over the past few years.
The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) said the TPP would improve market access for a range of agricultural commodities including red meat, fibre and grains.
The agreement will have a generally positive outcome for Australian farmers by reducing trade barriers and creating new export opportunities, the NFF said.
It said Australian farmers exported around $15 billion of agricultural goods to TPP countries in 2014, representing about one third of total exports of agricultural products.
That volume was set to increase as a result of the agreement, the NFF said.
The TPP will eliminate 98 per cent of tariffs on Australian exports to TPP countries.
It would create longer term benefits for Australian farmers beyond those that could be achieved in a bilateral free trade agreement, specifically in the three countries, Canada, Mexico and Peru, where Australia did not have agreements in place, the NFF said.
Importantly, the TPP will also provide for the opportunity over time to include other economies in the Asia-Pacific.
In the red meat sector, beef tariffs will be further reduced in Japan and Mexico and will result in the elimination of price safeguards in the United States.
Tariffs on sheep meat exports to Mexico will be eliminated in eight years and from day one of the agreement coming into effect in all other TPP countries. All remaining tariffs on Australian raw wool exports will also be scrapped.