AUSTRALIA | Australia recently signed a historic free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), creating significant opportunities for farmers and producers.
The Australian Minister for Trade, Senator the Hon Don Farrell, officially signed the Australia – UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with his counterpart, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Julie Collins MP, also signed a related investment MoU on Investment Cooperation in Food and Agriculture.
In the 2023-24 financial year, Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry exports to the UAE topped AUD 1.7 billion, making it the 11th largest agriculture export market.
The agreement, anticipated to take effect in mid-2025, will eliminate tariffs on 99 percent of Australian exports to the UAE once it has passed through the Australian and UAE legislative systems.
Australian farmers and agricultural producers will have enhanced access to the UAE’s growing market for premium food and agricultural products. They will also benefit from an estimated tariff savings of AUD 50 million annually on food and agricultural exports.
Key agriculture exports that will immediately benefit from tariff elimination upon the agreement's entry into force include frozen beef and sheep meat, dairy products, canola seeds, and dried pulses. This will give Australian farmers a competitive edge in the UAE market.
Australian wine tariffs will also be reduced, providing preferential access to the UAE’s high-value market of expatriate and tourist consumers. The agreement has provided an important gateway and trade diversification opportunities into the rapidly growing Middle East region.
The CEPA was the first Australian trade agreement to contain a standalone chapter on sustainable agriculture and food systems. It recognised agriculture’s essential role in ensuring food security, driving climate resilience, reducing emissions, and achieving other environmental outcomes.
This chapter also ensured that sustainability measures were not applied with a “one-size-fits-all” approach and did not create barriers to trade for our world-class agricultural exports.
The agreement also featured Australia’s first dedicated chapter, establishing a framework for cooperation to promote First Nations trade and investment interests. CEPA recognised the contribution of Indigenous Australians to sustainable agriculture through traditional knowledge, innovations, practices and stewardship approaches.
The associated MoU on Investment Cooperation in Food and Agriculture will promote investment in supply chains for agriculture and food exports and projects that enable producers and processors to diversify, create value-added products, and support sustainable agriculture and food production.
The CEPA has been scrutinised by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT), inviting public submissions to the inquiry until the 17th of January 2025.
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