7 January 2019
Date of effect: Immediate
Attention:
Industries—Industry bodies – Dairy Australia
Export dairy establishments
Licensed exporters
Purpose
To notify manufactures/exporters that from 27 December 2018, under the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), Thailand has increased the special safeguard measures (SSG) on anhydrous milk fat, whey, cheese and other products and has expanded the tariff rate quota (TRQ) for skim milk powder.
Summary of key points
- On 27 December 2018, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources received notification from Thailand’s Department of Foreign Trade of improved trigger volumes for certain dairy products subject to special agricultural safeguard (SSG) provisions and the tariff rate quota for skim milk powder under the TAFTA.
- Thailand has increased the SSG trigger volumes on anhydrous milk fat, whey, cheese and other products and has expanded the tariff rate quota (TRQ) for skim milk powder.
- Under the TAFTA, products subject to SSGs are eligible for the TAFTA preferential tariff rate while Australian exports are below the TAFTA SSG trigger volume for that calendar year.
- Shipments which have been contracted and are in-transit when the trigger level is reached will attract the TAFTA preferential rate, but will count against the volume of imports for the following year’s SSG trigger levels.
- The quota for 2019 is available from 1 January 2019.
- The following table lists the previous 2019 trigger volumes for affected HS codes and the improved trigger volume for 2019.
| HS Code | Description | 2019 TAFTA Trigger Volume (tons) | 2019 TAFTA Trigger Volume improved (tons) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0404.10.00 | Whey or modified whey, whether or not concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter | 19.80 | 31.03 |
| 0405.90.90 | Anhydrous milk fat | 346.49 | 418.30 |
| 0406.10.10 | Fresh cheese, including whey, cheese and curd | 99.00 | 119.51 |
| 0406.10.20 | Curd | ||
| 0406.20.10 | Grated or powdered cheese, of all kinds | ||
| 0406.20.90 | Other | ||
| 0406.30 | Processed cheese, not grated or powdered | 1,088.96 | 1,314.66 |
| 0406.90.00 | Other cheese, including cream cheese, not processed | 712.78 | 860.50 |
- The following table lists the previous 2019 quota for skim milk powder and the improved quota for 2019.
| HS Code | Description | 2019 TAFTA quota (tons) | 2019 TAFTA improved quota (tons) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0402.10.00 | Milk and cream, concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, in powder, granules or other solid forms, of fat content, by weight, not exceeding 1.5% | 3011.58 | 3312.74 |
The information provided in this advice is current at the time of writing and is intended for use as guidance only and should not be taken as definitive or exhaustive. The Commonwealth endeavours to keep information current and accurate, however, it may be subject to change without notice. Exporters are encouraged to verify these details with their importers prior to undertaking production/exports. The Commonwealth will not accept liability for any loss resulting from reliance on information contained in this notice.
Further information
Contact Patrick Sachs, Trade and Market Access Division if you have any queries.