The AFR is reporting today that the Abbott Government could sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan in early April, with the Government likely to accept a near halving of Japan’s tariff on beef imports, but minimal concessions in other agricultural products:
Trade sources have suggested an agreement could be struck as early as Mr Abbott’s visit to Japan on April 7, and finalised later in the year when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Australia…
“I think it is really important that we see some progress on [Japan’s] 38.5 per cent beef tariff,’’ [PM Abbott] said.
Japanese Fiscal and Economic Policy Minister Akira Amari, who also met Mr Robb said Australia and Japan had agreed to accelerate the free trade deal towards the Abbott-Abe summit in April.
“From my point of view, things are starting to move’’, regarding beef, Mr Amari told Kyodo News…
It’s important to note that dairy and rice are likely to be excluded from any trade deal with Japan, whereas wheat and sugar are also facing resistance and could also be excluded.
Given the substantive carve-outs, as well as other costs typically associated with bilateral FTAs, the Australia-Japan FTA is likely to offer at best only modest trade benefits to Australia, and looks to be mainly political in nature rather than economic.
