On 8 February, after almost 12 months of negotiations, Australia’s Trade Minister and
the United States Trade Representative announced that agreement has been reached on the text of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Australia and the US.
Although it has yet to pass through the Australian and US domestic legislative processes that bring the ‘agreed text’ into effect, the agreement allows for the removal of almost all tariffs on manufactured goods, substantial reductions in tariffs on agricultural goods, removal of discrimination in government procurement, enhanced intellectual property protection and improved access for services. According to the US Trade Representative, the FTA is the “most significant cut in industrial tariffs ever achieved in a US free trade agreement”.
