Market access

• Beef
• Sheepmeat

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The Australian Government has an integrated trade policy program with the goal of creating new and more open markets for exports. This is achieved through three key trade reform avenues:

1. Multilateral trade: involves discussions with a large number of countries and is achieved through the World Trade Organization (WTO).
2. Regional trade: involves countries within a specified region such as Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and other regional trade links.
3. Bilateral trade: involves two countries and is advanced via free trade agreements and individual country/sector negotiations on market access.

MLA, in conjunction with industry stakeholders, works alongside the Government in pursuit of this goal. Broadly speaking, MLA has a trade advocacy role.

 

Trade barriers

A large number of Australia's overseas markets are subject to some form of entry barrier. These impediments to trade are imposed in many forms.

 

Border protection measures, including tariffs and quotas, are the most obvious. However, non-tariff barriers including unfair competition in the form of subsidies, technical imposts, and exports from countries that support their domestic industries, are also major issues.

 

View the current tariffs and quotas in Australia's key sheepmeat markets
View the current tariffs and quotas in Australia's key beef markets

 

Key trade forums

Free Trade Agreements
Free trade agreements (FTAs) or closer economic partnerships promote stronger trade and commercial ties between participating countries, and open up opportunities for Australian exporters and investors to expand their business into key markets. They can speed up trade liberalisation by delivering gains faster than through multilateral or regional processes.

 

Australia's existing FTAs	FTAs currently under negotiation
1. The Closer Economic Relations (CER) Agreement between Australia and New Zealand (1983)	1. Australia-China FTA Negotiations
2. Singapore-Australia FTA (2003)	2. Australia-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) FTA Negotiations involves Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE
3. Thailand-Australia FTA (2005)	3. Australia-Japan FTA Negotiations
4. Australia-United States FTA (2005)	4. Australia-Korea FTA Negotiations
5. Australia-Chile FTA (2009)	5. Australia-Malaysia FTA Negotiations
6. ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (2010): Association of South East Asian Nations and comprises Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam	6. Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) involves Australia and the Cook Islands, Micronesia, French Polynesia, Fiji, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, PNG, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu
	7. Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement involves Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, United States, Peru and Vietnam

 

World Trade Organization
The WTO is the international organisation that deals with the rules governing trade between 153 member countries. It also resolves disputes between trading partners. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly and as freely as possible by helping producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.

The operation of the WTO is underpinned by a comprehensive set of Agreements that establish disciplines on trade. These Agreements cover issues such as market access, export subsidies, sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, technical barriers to trade, safeguards, and anti-dumping measures.

 

The current WTO negotiations are known as the Doha Development Round of multilateral trade talks and were launched in November 2001 at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar.

 

The objectives set by the Doha Declaration in relation to agriculture are to:

• Substantially increase market access
• Substantially reduce trade-distorting domestic support
• Eliminate all export subsidies.

 

Cairns Group
The Cairns Group (of which Australia is Chair) represents the agricultural trade liberalisation interests of 19 developed and developing countries. The Cairns Group operates through Ministers and officials at a government-to-government level. Farmer organisations from the individual countries are closely consulted by their governments to frame Cairns Group policies and positions.

 

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
APEC is a forum for facilitating economic growth, trade and investment liberalisation, and cooperation amongst its membership of 21 countries (including Australia). The end result of APEC's activities includes increased employment opportunities and community development.

 

MLA's role in market access

MLA's trade advocacy service involves the provision of assistance and support on a range of trade-related issues.

 

As a major exporting industry, changes in access to overseas markets affect the profitability of both individual livestock producers and meat processors. Complex international markets require an ongoing effort to defend existing rights of access to livestock and meat markets, and where possible, to secure improvements to export conditions via trade reform. Maintenance of market access conditions and securing trade reform are commonly undertaken at a government-to-government level.

 

MLA assists government officials in this effort through our head office in Sydney, our overseas offices in Washington, Tokyo, Seoul, Brussels, Bahrain and Beijing and via our network of representatives in South Asia.

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