Trade Update – 8th March 2024: AUSTRALIA BOOSTS ASEAN TRADE ENGAGEMENT, MALAYSIA SCORES PARTIAL WTO WIN, CHINA FACES ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUBSIDY DUTIES 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 BOOSTS ASEAN TRADE ENGAGEMENT: Australia chose this week’s Australia-ASEAN Summit in Melbourne to announce a range of new trade measures for the region including a $2b financing facility, ten business champions to facilitate greater commercial links and new regional hubs for investment teams.
MALAYSIA SCORES PARTIAL WTO WIN: A WTO Dispute Panel has ruled Malaysia failed to establish the EU breached trade rules by limiting the use of biofuels such as palm oil toward meeting renewable energy targets. However it did find the EU breached some procedural requirements in introducing the policy.
CHINA FACES ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUBSIDY DUTIES: The EU has flagged potential retroactive countervailing duties on electric vehicles from China by announcing new customs registration measures. It said it had sufficient evidence to show the imports were being subsidised. The subsidy inquiry began in October 2023.
AUSTRALIA FORECASTS FARM EXPORTS TO FALL: Australia has forecast its farm, fisheries and forestry sectors will grow by 6% in 2024/25. However it forecasts export revenues will continue to decline. A 13% decline in 2023/24 to $71.6 billion is expected to fall by a further 5% to $68.1 billion in 2024/25.
WTO EXTENDS E-COMMERCE MORATORIUM: The WTO’s MC13 concluded in Abu Dhabi with an agreement to extend the moratorium on e-commerce duties by two years. The conference largely failed to deliver significant outcomes on such issues as agriculture, fish subsidies and dispute appeal mechanisms.
SINGAPORE & AUSTRALIA CONCLUDE ELECTRICITY PRINCIPLES: Singapore and Australia have completed the development of the principles they will use to deepen energy connectivity and support cross-border electricity trading. The initiative was made under the Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement.
SOUTH KOREA SUBMITS DIGITAL BID: South Korea has completed its domestic procedures for joining the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and is now awaiting its entry into force. The follows the completion of negotiations with the founding economies of Singapore, New Zealand and Chile in June 2023.
APEC OFFICIALS MEET IN PERU: Officials from the APEC economies met in Lima earlier this week to explore how best to revitalize and update the long-envisioned Free Trade Area of the Pacific (FTAAP). The FTAAP was envisioned by APEC Leaders in 2006. This week’s dialogue was chaired by Peru and Australia.
THAI & EU NEGOTIATORS PREPARE FOR BRUSSELS: Trade negotiators from Thailand and the EU are to meet in Brussels in June for a 3rd round of relaunched FTA negotiations. This follows a 2nd round in January. The FTA negotiations were first launched in 2013 but were subsequently suspended. They resumed in 2023.
US LAUNCHES RICE STUDY: The US International Trade Commission has begun a major study of the export competitiveness of the rice industries in such economies as the US, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. It follows a request from the House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee.
