JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The signing of the Australia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement on Tuesday would “usher in a new chapter” in the enduring economic and trade links between the two nations, Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh commented.

The historic agreement, the negotiations for which were concluded in April, would allow duty-free exports of 99.7% of Australia’s current resources, energy and manufactured goods, to Japan.

In 2013, two-way goods and services trade reached A$70.8-billion, comprising A$66.5-billion trade in goods and A$4.3-billion trade in services, making Japan Australia’s second largest trading partner.

The Asian country is Australia’s second largest export destination, accounting for 15.5% of total exports, and third largest source of imports, at 6.5%.

Australia’s resources and energy product exports to Japan were worth an estimated A $42.2-billion in 2013 and accounted for over 80% of Australia’s total exports to Japan.

“Rio Tinto’s operations in Australia are major suppliers [to Japan] of commodities, including coal, iron-ore, diamonds, uranium and salt,” Walsh commented.

Despite the strong trade and investment relationship, Australian exporters and service providers faced high trade barriers from Japan, including agricultural tariffs of up to 219%.

Many of Australia’s major resource exports, such as coal, iron-ore and liquefied natural gas, already enter Japan duty-free, but tariffs of up to 11.7% were charged on a range of transformed energy and resource products.

The agreement called for the elimination of tariffs for coke and semicoke coal, which was worth A$89-million in 2013, noncrude petroleum oils, valued at A$74-million last year, aluminium hydroxide, worth A$73-million, and titanium dioxide, worth over A$14-million.

Under the terms of the new agreement, all tariffs on energy and mineral products would be eliminated within ten years – most as soon as the agreement was implemented, which was expected after the completion of domestic legal and parliamentary processes by both countries, including consideration by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.

“We already benefit from the close strategic economic relationship but the signing of this agreement will ensure we keep building on our partnership to ensure the trade links continue to grow,” Walsh concluded.