New Asian cattle trade deal
Weekly Times (Australia) | March 6, 2009
New Asian cattle trade deal
AUSTRALIA’s red meat and live cattle export trade to South-East Asia received a boost last week, with the signing of a new trade deal.
The deal, starting next year, will see most meat tariffs eliminated by 2020.
Australia’s red meat and live animal exports to the 10 member countries of the Association of South
East Asian Nations are worth about $722 million a year.
Most tariffs will now be locked in at the new levels, preventing any return to protectionism by ASEAN.
Indonesia’s 5 per cent tariffs on beef, fresh sheep meat, pig meat and poultry meat will be scrapped immediately, while its zero tariff on live breeding-animal imports will be locked in.
The current 5 per cent tariff on all other live cattle exported to Indonesia will be reduced to 2.5 per cent in 2020, which would be welcomed by the northern Australia cattle industry.
Thailand will eliminate its 5 per cent tariff on live imports next year, while the 50 per cent tariff on beef is to be axed in one go in 2020. Its 30 per cent tariff on sheep meat will be scrapped by 2013.
The Philippines’ 10 per cent beef tariff will be junked in 2012, its 3 per cent tariff on live animals scrapped immediately, and a 40 per cent tariff on fresh pork cut to zero in 2020.
Cattle Council of Australia executive director David Inall said ASEAN countries accounted for 69 per cent of Australia’s live cattle exports and 4 per cent of its red-meat exports.
However, he said it was critically important for the beef industry to increase these smaller markets, in light of the fact that about 80 per cent of Australia’s production was dedicated to the big four - Japan, Korea, the US and the domestic market.
He said the reduction in tariffs would give exporters a more stable trading environment.
Mr Inall said the ASEAN agreement was also a very clear benchmark for other agreements with major trading partners.
He said expediting a free-trade agreement with South Korea remained a priority.
"The recently concluded (although yet to be ratified and implemented) US-Korea FTA will see Australia’s major competitor in the Korean market gain a preferential tariff advantage, with the 40 per cent tariff on US beef being reduced to zero over 15 years," he said.
"Unless reciprocal arrangements are secured for Australian beef, our current market share in Korea will be placed under significant pressure: parity of access must be achieved."
