Trade Update – 11th November 2021: APEC Leaders To Gather Virtually, NZ Prime Minister Works The Phones, Australia Faces Shipping Scramble and many more…

Weekly trade review provided by Chatto Creek Advisory Pty.

Chatto Creek Advisory Pty Ltd is a Melbourne-based strategic consultancy specialising in trade policy advice and government engagement strategy. It is headed by Russell Scoular, an executive with rich government relations, trade policy, and business experience throughout the Asia Pacific.

APEC LEADERS TO GATHER VIRTUALLY: Leaders of the 21 APEC economies will gather virtually on November 12th and 13th to map out an economic and trade strategy that determines a path for sustainable regional recovery. The meeting follows an APEC Ministerial meeting held on November 8th and 9th.

NZ PRIME MINISTER WORKS THE PHONES: Prime Minister Ardern has been working the phones in recent days in the lead-up to her chairing the APEC Summit. In a call with China’s President Xi, they acknowledged the significance of China’s bids to join the CPTPP FTA and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement.

AUSTRALIA FACES SHIPPING SCRAMBLE: The ACCC has reported shipping disruptions are placing intense pressure on exporters and importers. It reports some large retailers, concerned cargoes will not arrive by Christmas, have begun buying their own containers and chartering their own vessels.

RCEP FTA READY JANUARY START: The RCEP FTA will begin for 10 economies on 1 January 2022 following ratification by Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, NZ, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Myanmar have still to complete their ratifications.

US COMMERCE SECRETARY TO VISIT ASIA: In addition to a visit to Japan, South Korea and India by US Trade Representative Tai, Commerce Secretary Raimondo will next week make her first trip to Asia. She is scheduled to visit Japan, Singapore and Malaysia during a three-day visit to the region.

AUSTRALIAN CANOLA SEEDS FOR PAKISTAN: Exports of Australian canola seeds to Pakistan will soon resume following a biosecurity agreement between the two economies. Australia last export canola to Pakistan in 2016-17. Trade Minister Tehan said Pakistan had canola imports of $426 million in 2020.

TAIWAN CHALLENGES CHINA AT WTO: Taiwan has used a meeting of the WTO’s Sanitary & Phytosanitary Committee to urge China to lift an import ban on wax and custard apples from the island economy. Taiwan claimed the import ban breached global trade rules and lacked proper scientific backing.

US BUSINESS LEADERS SEEK CPTPP ENTRY: The American Chambers of Commerce in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and New Zealand have called on President Biden to use his participation in the APEC Summit to announce the US will begin a process of joining the CPTPP FTA. President Trump quit the then TPP in 2017.

NEW INDONESIAN FTA BEGINS: The Indonesia-EFTA (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein) FTA began on November 1. The trade agreement was signed in 2018. Negotiations for the FTA began in Jakarta in 2011 and were concluded after 14 rounds. Trade between the economies was worth $US1.27b in 2021.

AUSTRALIA GETS A SUGAR BOOST: Australia has received the second-highest boost in 2021 sugar quota reallocations for exports to the US. Australia has received 3,145 tonnes of the 29,440 tonnes reallocated. Fiji, India and Peru were also among the 23 economies to receive reallocations.