In line with Australia`s other bilateral trade agreements, the remaining Australian tariffs on Chinese imports will be phased out. These include removing 5% tariffs on Chinese exports of manufacturing, electronics and white goods, with consumers and businesses benefiting from lower prices and greater availability of Chinese goods. If the agreement is fully implemented, 99.9% of Australia`s exports of raw materials, energy and production will enter China duty-free. ChAFTA will strengthen export momentum and give Australian exports an advantage over major competitors from the US, Canada and the EU. It also puts Australia on an equal footing with competitors from countries like New Zealand and Chile, which have already negotiated trade deals with China. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) entered into force on 20 December 2015. Andrew Robb, Australia`s Minister for Trade and Investment, a signatory to ChAFTA, said: ”This historic agreement with our largest trading partner will contribute to future economic growth, job creation and improved living standards by strengthening trade in goods and services and investing. China, home to 1.4 billion people and a rapidly growing middle class, offers huge opportunities for Australian businesses in the future. The ChAFTA concludes the government`s ”trade deal” with Australia`s three largest export markets, after concluding similar agreements with Japan and South Korea earlier this year. These three North Asian markets together accounted for more than half of Australia`s exports last year. With ChAFTA, China offered Australia its best service obligations to date in a free trade agreement (with the exception of China`s agreements with Hong Kong and Macau). There will be a work and holiday agreement in which Australia will grant Chinese nationals up to 5,000 visas for work and holidaymakers.

[7] The free trade agreement was signed between the two countries on June 17, 2015 in Canberra, Australia. [4] The agreement will follow the usual treaty-making process, where it will enter into force when China reviews its domestic legal and legislative procedures and, in Australia, through the inter-two-three treaties of the Australian Parliament and the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References. [4] ChAFTA also means that 95% of Chinese products imported into Australia will be duty-free after four years, resulting in substantial savings on entry components. This will reduce business costs and increase Australia`s export competitiveness. The establishment of the China-Australia Free Trade Area not only facilitates trade and investment between the two countries, but also contributes to the stability of development in the Asia-Pacific region and the liberalization of world trade. The first round of negotiations took place in Sydney on 23 May 2005. After nearly a decade and 21 rounds of intensive negotiations, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands this week on a comprehensive free trade agreement. . . .