ASEAN free-trade deal (with Australia) finally gets the go-ahead

[pampango]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

AFTER almost five years of talks, Australia will enter into a free-trade agreement with ASEAN countries, covering about $112 billion goods and services. The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, yesterday announced the agreement would take effect from January 1. Negotiations for the trade deal, Australia's largest, began in March 2005.

'The entry into force of this massive new free-trade agreement for Australia as of 2010 is a big step forward for Australia, it is good for the Australian economy, it is good for jobs, and that is why this Government is pleased to have been part of this negotiation, pleased to have brought this negotiation to a successful conclusion,'' Mr Rudd said.

The agreement spans 12 countries and over 600 million people and covers about 20 per cent of Australia's two-way trade.

By 2020, the deal will remove tariffs on 96 per cent of Australia's exports to ASEAN countries. At the moment, only 67 per cent of exports to the region are free from tariffs.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/asean-freetrade-deal-finally-gets-the-goahead-20091025-hep5.html

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Australia already had trade agreements with Thailand and Singapore which belong to ASEAN (other members - Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei). The only other FTA's Australia has are with the US and Chile.