China to repeal coal tariff after FTA
Business Spectator | 21 October 2014
China to repeal coal tariff after FTA
Scott Murdoch
The Australian
China has promised to repeal the newly introduced tariff on Australia coal imports once a free trade agreement between the two countries is finalised.
Treasurer Joe Hockey met with Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei in Beijing today ahead of the APEC Finance Minister’s meeting tomorrow.
China made the surprise move a fortnight ago to introduce levies of 3 per cent on coking coal and 6 per cent on thermal coal for countries with which it did not hold an FTA.
“We want to see our way through it and the answer that we agreed upon was the free trade agreement,” Mr Hockey told The Australian.
“Once we get a free trade agreement it will be abolished.
“The quicker we get an FTA the quicker the tariff will go.”
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is hopeful of securing a free trade agreement with China by the time of the G20 summit in November.
But Mr Abbott sounded a warning to government MPs not to jeopardise the trade talks as he responded to a coalition party room meeting question about foreign investment in agriculture and real estate.
He said Australia needed the free trade deal being negotiated with China, and he hoped to seal it by the time of the Group of 20 leaders summit which he is chairing in Brisbane in November.
He also wanted to get as good a deal for agricultural exports as New Zealand secured with China in 2008.
Mr Abbott was questioned in the party room meeting on the government’s approach to foreign investment.
He said the government had a clear commitment to changing the foreign investment rules for agricultural land and agribusinesses.
The changes are expected to include dropping the threshold for approvals and easing the rules for state-owned enterprises.
Mr Abbott added he was conscious of the potential impact of foreign investment in driving up the cost of housing in capital cities.
However he said no one should do anything to jeopardise a good outcome from the FTA.
The Prime Minister also told the meeting that, subject to confirmation, he expected the parliament would hold special sittings of both houses in November to hear speeches from some visiting G20 nation leaders.
This article first appeared in The Australian Business Review
