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Australia strikes free trade deal with Japan

Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott

Photo by Bloomberg

8th April 2014

By: Esmarie Iannucci

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Australasia

  

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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The resources sector has been quick to welcome the Australian government’s economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Japan.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday in principle agreed to an EPA. The agreement was expected to deliver a significant boost to Australian farmers and other agricultural producers, resource exporters, service providers and consumers.

The Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy welcomed the EPA, pointing out that the tariffs on nickel, ferro alloys, petroleum oils, aluminium hydroxide, titanium dioxide and coking coal would be reduced or eliminated under the EPA.

More broadly, the EPA would deepen Australia’s engagement in resources with Japan, the world’s third-largest economy.

Energy and minerals currently accounted for 89% of Japan’s imports from Australia. 

“This is an important step for the competitiveness of Australian resources exports. It will not only benefit resource exports, many of which are already tariff free, but will particularly impact commodities struggling with increasing costs, who need the tariff elimination,” said CME CEO Reg Howard-Smith.

Japan was a significant Western Australian trading partner with 48% of Australia’s total exports to Japan coming from Western Australia alone. In volume terms, 73% of Western Australia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) went to Japan based on contracts in force in 2012.

Japan is already Western Australia’s largest market for LNG, second largest for iron-ore and third largest for nickel. While iron-ore and gas currently enter Japan duty free, Japan would eliminate tariffs for all remaining resource products over the next ten years.

Edited by Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Contract Publishing Editor

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