Australia’s main opposition Labor Party said on the 21st that it had reached a compromise with the federal government and would no longer oppose the free trade agreement signed with China. This means that the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement has cleared the last hurdle and is expected to be approved by the Australian Parliament before the end of this year.
Federal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull welcomed the news, saying that the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is “very important for future jobs in Australia” and that Australia’s opportunities in the Chinese market are “limited only by our imagination and enterprise.” Heart”.
Dispute over employment terms for Chinese workers
On June 17 this year, China and Australia formally signed a free trade agreement in Canberra after 10 years of negotiations, and then entered into their respective domestic approval procedures with a view to the agreement taking effect as soon as possible.
But since then, the Australian Labor Party and some trade union organizations have criticized the free trade agreement, believing that some of its provisions provide convenience for Chinese companies investing in Australia to introduce Chinese workers and will affect the employment opportunities of Australian workers. Labor leader Bill Shorten said his party would “fight hard” to amend the agreement, which would amount to restarting negotiations.
The provisions opposed by the Labor Party and some trade unions mainly involve the employment of Chinese workers by Chinese-funded companies in Australia. According to the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Australia agreed to establish an investment facilitation mechanism to open a “green channel” for engineering and technical personnel under Chinese investment projects to apply for visas and work permits in Australia.
In response to objections, Australian officials and experts pointed out that the investment facilitation mechanism only targets large-scale infrastructure projects in specific economic sectors, and can only be enjoyed by Chinese-funded enterprises with an investment of more than 150 million Australian dollars (approximately US$109 million) in Australia. In addition, the Australian federal government’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which is responsible for visa affairs, stated that it will only agree to employ foreign workers in a foreign-funded project if it is satisfied that Australians have been given priority treatment, and must comply with the “agreement guidelines”.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott severely criticized the Labor Party’s stance, but Turnbull adopted a more conciliatory strategy after taking office.
The compromise plan was approved by the opposition party
In response to the three specific amendments proposed by the Labor Party on the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement last week, Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb and Labor’s “Shadow Cabinet” Trade Minister Huang Yingxian reached a compromise on the evening of the 20th and obtained it on the 21st. Approved by the Labor Party parliamentary group.
Under this plan, the Australian government agreed to address Labor Party concerns by amending immigration regulations rather than the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Relevant modifications mainly include that all foreign-invested enterprises in Australia must implement labor market testing, that is, enterprises must first recruit in the Australian local labor market, and can hire foreign workers only if they cannot find local workers; foreigners who come to Australia with a 457 temporary work visa Technicians, including nurses, engineers, plumbers, electricians, welders, and carpenters, must obtain relevant Australian industry licenses within 90 days of arriving in Australia; the minimum wage for foreign workers must be guaranteed and need to reach market levels.
Shorten told reporters in Canberra on the 21st: “I am very happy to announce today… that the Labor Party has now obtained what we consider to be satisfactory (labor) legal protection, which means that the Labor Party now supports the early passage of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. ”
Zero tariff on all Australian products from China
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement will be debated directly in the Australian House of Commons and is expected to be approved and enter into force before the end of this year.
The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement covers more than a dozen fields such as goods, services, and investment. It is one of the free trade agreements with the highest overall level of trade and investment liberalization that China has negotiated with other countries. According to the agreement, products from China and Australia, which each account for 85.4% of the export trade volume, will achieve zero tariffs immediately when the agreement takes effect. After the tax reduction transition period, the proportion of Australia’s tax items and trade volume that will eventually achieve zero tariffs will reach 100%; the proportion of China’s tax items and trade volume that will achieve zero tariffs will reach 96.8% and 97% respectively.
Reuters reported that Australia hopes to use China to achieve transformation, from exporting large quantities of coal, iron ore and other mineral resources to expanding exports of food and agricultural products. The National Farmers’ Federation of Australia has said the free trade agreement will “provide billions of dollars in export value to Australian farmers”.
Abbott pushed hard for the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement during his term. After Turnbull takes office in September this year, one of his priorities may be to promote the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible because it “is important to Australia’s future prosperity.” One of the cornerstones”.
After reaching a compromise with the Labor Party, Turnbull said on the 21st: “We have 23 million outstanding Australians, and their imagination and enterprising spirit will ensure that we benefit from entering the Chinese market.”
Current tax rate
Beef 15.5%
Dairy products 12.3%
Wine 34.7%
Shrimps and crabs set up for 5 years
The implementation of the China-Australia Free Trade AgreementThe final tax rate is 0
How does it affect our lives?
Under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, the liberalization of agricultural and aquatic products such as beef, dairy products, wine, lobster and abalone will enrich the domestic market structure, allowing consumers to have more choices and enjoy price benefits. discount.
In the field of investment, the two sides will grant each other most-favored-nation treatment from the time the agreement takes effect; Australia will also lower the review threshold for Chinese companies to invest in Australia and make facilitation arrangements. In addition, after the agreement is signed, the Australian visa approval process will become cheaper and simpler, which will greatly facilitate the people of the two countries to travel, work and study in each other’s country.
my country is Australia’s largest goods trading partner, largest import source and largest export destination. Zero tariffs will benefit the export of my country’s advantageous products, such as electronic products, textiles and clothing, luggage, agricultural machinery and equipment, etc.
The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is expected to be approved and enter into force before the end of the year
Australia’s main opposition Labor Party said on the 21st that it had reached a compromise with the federal government and would no longer oppose the free trade agreement signed with China. This means that the C…
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