Trade Update – 1st March 2023: AUSTRALIA & CHINA PREPARE FOR VISIT, MALAYSIA BEGINS REVIEW OF MASTER PLAN, NEW ZEALAND MINISTER JETS TO TOKYO 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.
AUSTRALIA & CHINA PREPARE FOR VISIT: Australia and China have begun work for a visit to Beijing by Trade Minister Farrell. Officials have met to discuss a visit including dates. Minister Farrell told the ABC there were positive signs but bilateral trade problems did not occur overnight and would not be resolved overnight.
MALAYSIA BEGINS REVIEW OF MASTER PLAN: Malaysia has appointed a taskforce to review its Industrial Master Plan 2030. It has begun the review following the impact of such issues as the COVID pandemic and geopolitical tensions. The plan is the main reference document underpinning Malaysia’s economic growth.
NEW ZEALAND MINISTER JETS TO TOKYO: Trade Minister O’Connor was in Tokyo during the week where he met Trade Minister Yasutoshi and Economic Revitalization Minister Shigeyuki. New Zealand is the 2023 Chair of the CPTPP FTA and Japan chair of the FTA’s UK Accession Working Group.
VIETNAM HOSTS FTA BID: Negotiators from the CPTPP FTA economies are meeting with UK negotiators in Vietnam this week to further negotiate on the UK’s bid to join the FTA. It follows a virtual meeting last week of CPTPP ministers and senior officials. Chile’s ratification of the CPTPP entered into force during the week.
US REPORT SLAMS CHINA’S WTO COMPLIANCE: The USTR’s latest report on China’s WTO compliance has described China as an outlier whose state-led economic approach continued to cause serious global harm. It described China as having a long history of violating, disregarding and evading WTO trade rules.
THAILAND-AUSTRALIA FTA COMMISSION TO MEET: A 4th Thailand-Australia FTA Joint Commission meeting is to be held in Bangkok this week. It will look at how best to enhance the operation of the FTA which began in January 2005. A range of biosecurity and rules of origin issues are expected to be discussed.
INDONESIA TO HOST INDO-PACIFIC ROUND: Indonesia will host the next negotiating round of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Negotiators will hold the negotiations in Bali between March 13 and 19. The first negotiating round was held in Australia in December. A special round was held in India in February.
PHILIPPINES RATIFIES RCEP FTA: The Philippines Senate has ratified the economy’s participation in the RCEP FTA. The ratification process will be complete 60 days after the Philippines files its documentation with the ASEAN Secretariat. The ratification was opposed by elements of the Philippines agricultural sector.
RCEP COMMISSION MEETS: The RCEP FTA’s Joint Committee held its third meeting during the week when Vietnam hosted a video conference of ministers and trade officials from the FTA’s member states and the ASEAN Secretariat. The RCEP FTA created the world’s largest trading bloc when it began in January 2022.
AUSTRALIA SENDS FIRM EU MESSAGE: Australia will not agree to an early resolution of geographical indications (GIs) as part of an EU FTA. In a report of the 14th round Australia said it had not agreed to any GI terms and would only agree at the end of negotiations if the overall trade package was good enough.
