The real reason for Toyota, General Motors and Ford pulling out of manufacturing in Australia may have been revealed today. Federal Trade Minister Andrew Robb announced a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea. He said that tariffs on Australian exports will be removed under the agreement and that the deal would deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in exports.
Plans are also well advanced for the Trans Pacific Partnership which will extend so-called 'free trade' still further and this may have helped to trigger Alcoa's decision to close its Geelong smelter. Alcoa is "repositioning" itself in the global market place - it already has operations in South Korea and Indonesia. The TPP could be signed in Singapore this week.
"As a result of the agreement, tariffs will be eliminated on Australia's major exports to Korea and there will be significant new market openings in services and investment," said Minister Robb.
"As part of the FTA, tariffs of up to 300 per cent will be eliminated on key Australian agricultural exports such as beef, wheat, sugar, dairy, wine, horticulture and seafood, as well as resources, energy and manufactured goods.”
It is claimed that the benefits of the FTA will start immediately, with some modelling suggesting that the Free Trade Agreement would be worth $5 billion between 2015 and 2030 and could boost the economy by around $650 million annually after 15 years.
The suggestion is that Australian automotive suppliers will benefit from the immediate removal of tariffs as high as eight per cent; the wine industry from tariffs of 15 per cent and Australian wheat growers, potato farmers and cherry, grape and mango producers would all benefit.
If we believe that, we deserve everything we get!!
Unfortunately it seems that currently Australia's largest export through our ports is shipping containers! They arrive here full but as we have little to put in them, most are loaded empty onto the container ships - so effectively we are exporting Australian air.
Ask Tony Abbott to think again.
http://action.sumofus.org/a/australia-tpp/2/3/?akid=4011.1781662.iSzI7W&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=5
Unfortunately it seems that currently Australia's largest export through our ports is shipping containers! They arrive here full but as we have little to put in them, most are loaded empty onto the container ships - so effectively we are exporting Australian air.
Ask Tony Abbott to think again.
http://action.sumofus.org/a/australia-tpp/2/3/?akid=4011.1781662.iSzI7W&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=5
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