High-quality, comprehensive free trade agreements (FTAs) play an important role in:
- supporting free and open global trade
- enhancing the international competitiveness of Australian exports.
Free trade agreements can cover entire regions with many participants or link just two economies. Under these agreements, parties enter legally binding commitments to open access to each other’s markets for goods, services and investment.
Our agreements
Australia has 18 free trade agreements currently in force.
These include bilateral agreements with:
- Chile
- China
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Korea
- Malaysia
- New Zealand
- Peru
- Singapore
- Thailand
- the United Kingdom
- the United States
These also include 4 plurilateral agreements:
- the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA)
- the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
- the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus
- the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Learn more about free trade agreements in force.
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has been ratified by all original signatories - Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
On 1 February 2021, the United Kingdom (UK) formally requested accession to the CPTPP and on 16 July 2023, CPTPP Ministers signed the UK’s Accession Protocol to enable the UK to join the CPTPP.
Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement
On 31 May 2023, the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement entered into force.
Learn more about the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement..
Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement
On 29 December 2022, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IA-ECTA) entered into force.
Australia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
The Australia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (A-UAE CEPA) was signed on 6 November 2024.
The CEPA will enter into force when both parties complete all necessary legal processes for entering treaties.
Under negotiation
Free trade agreements currently under negotiation include:
- Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
- Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement
Learn more about free trade agreements signed but not yet in force or under negotiation.
Benefits
The Australian Government supports the negotiation of comprehensive free trade agreements that are:
- consistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and guidelines
- reinforce the multilateral trading system.
Free trade agreements promote stronger trade and commercial ties between participating countries.
They also open up opportunities for Australian exporters and investors to expand their business into key markets. There is particular benefit when they remove barriers in highly protected markets or enable Australian exporters to gain a foothold in new or expanding markets.
By facilitating access to these markets, free trade agreements provide significant commercial benefits to Australia’s exporters and in turn, wider economic benefits to all Australians.
Our role
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) leads and coordinates free trade agreement negotiations on behalf of the Australian Government.
We work closely with DFAT to ensure the interests of agriculture industries are strongly represented in the development of Australian negotiating positions.
We also work together to consult industry on identifying market access priorities and defensive interests, and to keep industry informed of the government’s approach to the negotiations.
we are responsible for biosecurity and food safety measures, and play a leading role in developing:
- the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) provisions of free trade agreements
- broader provisions impacting agriculture market access, agriculture tariffs, Non-Tariff Measures and sustainable agri-food systems.