AUSTRALIA-CATTLEMEN WILL BOOST ASIAN BEEF EXPORTS.
Australian cattle farmers will be pushing for their beef exports to South Korea to be made tariff-free after Canberra and Seoul agreed to begin negotiations on a free trade deal.
The Australian economy stands to gain A$35 billion over the next 15 years if a successful deal can be concluded with South Korea, the nation’s third biggest customer and fourth largest trading partner, the Australian Associated Press reports.
Speaking to reporters after their meeting in Canberra today, Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announced negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) would begin in May.
"This is a significant day -- Korea and Australia are major trading partners," Rudd said.
"We take what is already a very good economic relationship between the two of us and we intend to make it even closer, even bigger, even better."
Lee said it was time to "upgrade" the already close economic relationship with the start of FTA negotiations.
But he stressed it wasn’t at the expense of a conclusion to the Doha round of world trade talks.
One of the biggest issues for local farmers will be for Australia to match a deal struck by the United States in its free trade agreement with South Korea, which has tariffs on beef imports coming down from 40 per cent to zero over 15 years.
Trade Minister Simon Crean said it was crucial for Australia to push ahead quickly with the negotiations.
"Some of the concessions gained by other countries are a threat to Australian exporters to Korea," he said in a statement.
Aside from trade, Lee and Rudd committed to closer defence ties between the two nations, which fought together in the Korean War.