High-quality, comprehensive free trade agreements (FTAs) play an important role in supporting global trade liberalisation and enhancing the international competitiveness of Australian exports.
FTAs can cover entire regions with multiple participants or link just two economies. Under these agreements, parties enter into legally binding commitments to open access to each other’s markets for goods, services and investment.
Australia has 18 FTAs 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 and the United States, as well as four 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, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The 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. For more information, refer to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website.
On 31 May 2023, the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement entered into force. For more information, refer to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
On 29 December 2022, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IA-ECTA) entered into force. Further information is available at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
FTAs currently under negotiation include:
- Australia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
- Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
- Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement
For more information on these FTAs and outcomes for agriculture go to:
Why have FTAs?
The Australian Government supports the negotiation of comprehensive FTAs that are consistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and guidelines and reinforce the multilateral trading system.
FTAs promote stronger trade and commercial ties between participating countries and open up opportunities for Australian exporters and investors to expand their business into key markets. They are particularly beneficial 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, FTAs provide significant commercial benefits to Australia’s exporters and in turn, wider economic benefits to all Australians.
Role of the department in FTAs
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) leads and coordinates FTA negotiations on behalf of the Australian Government.
The department works closely with DFAT to ensure the interests of agricultural industries are strongly represented in the development of Australian negotiating positions. The two departments 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.
The department is responsible for biosecurity and food safety measures and has a leading role in developing the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) provisions of FTAs as well as broader provisions impacting agricultural market access, agricultural tariffs, Non-Tariff Measures and sustainable agri-food systems.