"AU: "China deal a 'cracking' win"

The Australia-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) represents a “cracking agreement” that surpasses expectations for tariff reductions on four key farm exports, says National Farmers' Federation (NFF) president Brent Finlay.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed the decade-long FTA process had been concluded following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Canberra. Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng signed a Declaration of Intent this afternoon.

The FTA contains outcomes for other products and services to expand two-way trade currently valued at $150 billion between the two countries, with agriculture a critical component of future trade.

Five stars from NFF
A tariff of 11-30pc on citrus would be eliminated in eight years while tariffs on other horticultural products would be phased out in four years.

“The NFF members and I strongly congratulate the Trade Minister Andrew Robb and the federal government for landing another free trade agreement. We also congratulate industry for the volume of work they’ve put into these negotiations with the government. We think this is another major milestone between Australia and China and this is a massive shot in the arm for Australian agriculture.

Source: theland.com.au