How Australia’s FTAs can help Burnie’s businesses find new markets

I am looking forward to hosting a free seminar for Burnie’s business community this week where industry and government advisers will offer advice on how exporters can use FTAs to grow presence in international markets.

The seminar, from 7:30 am this Tuesday (31 July) at the Burnie Arts and Function Centre is an opportunity for business representatives to receive practical and expert exporting advice.

The session will cover Australia’s recently signed Peru-Australia FTA and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP-11), as well as other agreements such as those with China, Japan and Korea.

Representatives from Austrade, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AusIndustry and Tradestart will be on hand to offer advice and tips on entering these promising markets.

FTAs provide significant and ongoing advantages for Australian goods and services in markets that comprise a significant proportion of the global economy.

Tariffs on food products such as dried fruit and muesli exported to China, for example, previously attracted a 25 per cent duty.

Since the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement entered into force, these tariffs have dropped to 5 per cent and will fall to zero on 1 January 2019.

As our FTAs reduce barriers to trade over time, markets become more accessible for local companies that might not previously have considered exporting.

Businesses in the Burnie region are well placed to exploit many of these new opportunities, and this seminar will equip them with the knowledge and skills they need.

More than 100 of these seminars have been run across Australia by Austrade and DFAT since March 2015.

For more information about the FTA seminars, call Austrade on 13 28 78 or email fta@austrade.gov.au.