Trade Update – 4th September 2023: AUSTRALIA & EU SEEK TO ADVANCE TRADE TALKS, US & CHINA ESTABLISH NEW WORKING GROUP, AUSTRALIA BARLEY SETS SAIL FOR CHINA 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 & EU SEEK TO ADVANCE TRADE TALKS: Trade Minister Farrell and Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis met by video-link during the week in a bid to identify ways to progress FTA negotiations. The negotiations have struggled to reach consensus around access to the EU for Australian agriculture products.
US & CHINA ESTABLISH NEW WORKING GROUP: Commerce Secretary Raimondo and Commerce Minister Wang met in Beijing during the week and agreed to a suite of actions including the establishment of a new commercial issues working group, technical discussions between experts and an annual in-person meeting.
AUSTRALIA BARLEY SETS SAIL FOR CHINA: Australia’s first major shipment of barley to China in more than three years left Western Australia’s Kwinana Grain Terminal during the week. The shipment of 55,000 tonnes followed China’s recent lifting of punitive anti-dumping and countervailing duties.
INDIA SEEKS TO BLOCK ILLEGAL RICE EXPORTS: India is to introduce additional safeguard actions to restrict rice exports. It follows a ban in July on shipments of non-basmati white rice. The Ministry of Commerce said it had received credible reports that rice shipments were being misclassified to escape the ban.
SOUTH KOREA LOOKS TO NEW TRADE AGREEMENTS: South Korea is looking at new trade negotiations for economic partnership agreements with seven economies including Thailand and Pakistan. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently held a public hearing in Seoul to gauge support for the initiative.
SINGAPORE & GCC LOOK TO UPGRADE FTA: Singapore hosted a 3rd Gulf Cooperation Council-Singapore FTA Joint Committee meeting during the week where officials discussed a potential review and upgrade of their free trade agreement. The FTA was signed in 2008 and entered into force in 2013.
NEW ZEALAND & UAE LAUNCH TRADE TALKS: New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates agreed during the week to begin exploratory discussions on for a bilateral economic partnership agreement. It followed a visit to Dubai by Trade Minister O’Connor whose current travel included visits to India and Saudi Arabia.
THAILAND & SRI LANKA LOOK TO 2024 FTA: Thailand and Sri Lanka held a 5th Bilateral Political Consultation in Colombo during the week with a focus on trade and investment. The two economies were satisfied with the progress of their bilateral FTA negotiations which are scheduled to conclude by early 2024.
AUSTRALIA TO REVIEW DEFENCE LAW: Australia has appointed former defence official and diplomat Peter Tesch and former head of the ACCC Graeme Samuel to co-lead a review of its Defence Trade Controls Act. A review of the Act, which governs military and dual-use technology exports, is required every five years.
SINGAPORE & VIETNAM ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIPS: A visit to Vietnam by Singapore Prime Minister Lee during the week has seen the announcement of a suite of new bilateral initiatives encompassing connectivity, two-way talent flows for professionals, climate change and renewable energy cooperation.
