It has been a long time between courses.
In July 1957 - three months before Tony Abbott was born - the respective prime
ministers of Australia and Japan, Robert Menzies and Nobusuke Kishi, signed a
watershed commerce pact. On Monday night, in Tokyo, Mr Abbott and his Japanese
counterpart, Shinzo Abe - Mr Kishi's grandson - signed off on a free trade
agreement described as the most significant economic advance between the two
nations in almost 60 years.
In symbolic recognition of this event, Mr Abbott presented
Mr Abe with an album of photographs of Mr Kishi's visit to Australia. (This is
not the place to analyse the symbolism - if any - of Mr Abe's gift to Mr
Abbott: a set of electronic bicycle gears.) Certainly, the Japan Australia
Economic Partnership Agreement transcends the merely tokenistic: it is
historic. Not only will it set the two nations on a more open and co-operative
economic course, the positive effects should resonate well into the century.
The agreement is due to be formally signed during Mr Abe's
state visit to Australia in July. As such, the FTA is, in reality, as welcome
as it was when the proposal was first mooted in 2002 and more formally
instigated by the Howard government in 2005. ''A free trade deal with
Australia's key partner in Asia makes sense,'' said The Age at the
time. We endorse that view today.
Australia's Trade Minister, Andrew Robb, who has negotiated
intensively over six months with Japan's Trade Minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi,
deserves special praise. It was only at the last moment (half an hour before
the prime ministers' private dinner on Sunday) that Mr Robb and his negotiators
finally persuaded Japan to grant Australian producers access to its hitherto
impenetrable beef and dairy markets.
Over time, tariffs will be reduced or removed on 97 per
cent of all Australian exports to Japan. In return, Australia is to scrap its 5
per cent tariff on Japanese electronic and household goods, as well as
immediately eliminate the 5 per cent tariff for 75 per cent of Japanese
vehicles, with the remainder eased in over three years.
There are, inevitably, swings and roundabounts. While this
could mean cheaper cars for consumers, the plight of local automotive
components makers will hardly be eased: as Australia's car manufacturing
industry begins to wind down, the FTA's five-year phasing out of tariffs on
Japanese components makers will inevitably create increased competition. There
are contradictory views. For example, while the Victorian government says the
state's cattle and dairy farmers will benefit from the lower tariffs on
exports, Queensland Liberal National federal MP George Christensen described
the agreement as not having ''significant benefit for Australian agriculture''.
Last October, Mr Abbott, emphasising his government's
''open for business'' mantra, set a 12-month deadline for free trade
negotiations with Japan, South Korea and China. He is doing well. With Japan on
board on Monday and South Korea signed off on Tuesday, only China remains to be
settled. That possibility augurs well, given China's positive indications.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister and Trade Minister, along with a vast delegation
of ministers, state premiers and big-business identities, all descend on China
later in the week.
The task now for Mr Abbott is to maintain equilibrium
between these highly competitive nations. As The Age's Asia-Pacific
editor, John Garnaut, wrote on Tuesday, this Asian trip is the toughest yet in
terms of dealing with regional rivalry and dynastic politics. Mr Abbott's
message - ''Making new friends doesn't mean losing old ones'' - is being put to
the test.
No comments:
Post a Comment