A new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement

  • Media release

New export opportunities, that will drive Australian jobs, will be created with the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP-11) tomorrow.

The Agreement is one of the most comprehensive trade deals ever concluded and will eliminate more than 98 per cent of tariffs in a trade zone with a combined GDP worth $13.7 trillion.

Australian farmers, manufacturers, service providers, small businesses and all exporters are the big winners as they will be able to sell more of their goods and services in a free trade area that spans the Americas and Asia.

The Turnbull Coalition Government took a leadership role to deliver the TPP-11 because it will drive demand for Australian goods and services.

The more Australian products and expertise sold to the world, the more Australian jobs created.

The TPP-11 creates Australia's first free trade agreements with Canada and Mexico, giving Australian exporters preferential access to two of the world's top 20 economies for the first time.

In 2016-17, nearly one quarter of Australia's total exports, worth nearly $88 billion, went to TPP-11 countries. This will continue to grow as tariffs tumble under the TPP-11.

Highlights of the TPP-11 include:

  • new reductions in Japan's tariffs on fresh, chilled and frozen beef, (Australian exports worth $2.1 billion in 2016-17);
  • new access for dairy products into Japan, Canada and Mexico, including the elimination of a range of cheese tariffs into Japan covering over $100 million of trade;
  • new sugar access into the Japanese, Canadian and Mexican markets;
  • tariff reductions, and new access for our cereals and grains exporters into Japan, including, for the first time in 20 years, new access for rice products into Japan;
  • elimination of all tariffs on sheepmeat, cotton and wool;
  • elimination of tariffs on seafood, horticulture and wine; and
  • elimination of all tariffs on industrial products (manufactured goods);
  • guaranteed levels of access for services; and
  • liberalised and improved regulatory regimes for investment, notably in mining/resources, telecommunications and financial services.

As a modern trade agreement, the TPP-11 will help grow digital trade with rules that cover the movement and storage of data, privacy, consumer rights, and combat 'spam'.

Tomorrow I will join Ministers from Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam to sign the TPP-11 in Santiago.

The signing is a significant moment for open markets, free trade and the rules-based international system. It sends an important message to the world that prosperity is achieved through breaking down trade barriers, not building them.

If Labor and Bill Shorten got their way, the TPP-11 would be the TPP-10 and Australia's exporters would be locked out of this lucrative trade zone as other countries look to join.

Once the Agreement enters into force, Australia looks forward to discussing TPP-11 expansion with interested parties and member countries.

Each signatory is now working towards securing the entry into force of the Agreement as soon as practicable. The Turnbull Government will table the TPP-11 text, available on the DFAT website since 21 February, and National Interest Analysis in the Parliament later this month. The TPP-11 will then undergo a review by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties to which all interested parties can make submissions.

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