Australian leather exports to the Chinese market will be exempted from tariffs for several years

China Leather Network News: After China and Australia jointly announced the substantial end of the China Australia Free Trade Agreement, the two sides signed a letter of intent for the free trade agreement yesterday. According to a BBC report, Canberra stated that the China Australia Free Trade Agreement, after several rounds of negotiations, has finally come to fruition and will open up the Chinese market worth approximately tens of billions of dollars for Australia. In 2013, the total trade volume between China and Australia was 150 billion Australian dollars (approximately 130 billion US dollars), and the Australian government believes that the implementation of the free trade agreement will add another 20 billion Australian dollars (approximately 17.5 billion US dollars) to the bilateral trade volume between the two countries.

Over the past two decades, trade between China and Australia has steadily increased, and China has now become a bilateral trading partner of Australia. According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce, as of September this year, China has continued to remain Australia's largest trading partner, largest export destination, and largest import source country.

The BBC report specifically mentioned that 85% of Australian products exported to China will not be subject to tariffs, including raw hides and leather products. After the agreement is fully implemented, duty-free products will increase to over 95%. The website of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Australian farmers and leather industry exporters welcomed the signing of the China Australia Free Trade Agreement, as it means that Australian beef and leather products can achieve duty-free access to the huge Chinese market in the coming years.

According to a reporter from China Leather Network, the annual average value of raw and finished leather exports from the Australian leather industry to China is about 896 million US dollars. The tariff rates for raw and finished leather exports from Australia, such as cow and sheep hides, to China are between 5% and 14%. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that these tariff rates will be reduced to zero in the next 2 to 7 years. After the official implementation of the China Australia Free Trade Agreement, the total benefits that the agreement could bring to the Australian leather industry by 2030 could reach $6 billion.

According to the China Australia trade data recently released by the Ministry of Commerce, it was found that in the first three quarters of this year, Australia exported raw hides (excluding fur) and leather totaling 832 million US dollars, of which the total export to China was about 597 million US dollars, accounting for more than 70%, confirming the report that China is the main consumer market for Australian raw hides. David Larkin, a member of the FTA red meat trade negotiations, stated that the gradual elimination of tariff costs will have a positive impact on Australian cattle and sheep farmers, processing plants, and exporters, and Chinese customers and consumers will no longer have to pay premiums due to tariffs.

Shoes, boots, luggage and other products are also major trade products between China and Australia. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, in the first three quarters of this year, the total amount of footwear products imported into Australia was 1.217 billion US dollars, while the total amount imported from China was 769 million US dollars, accounting for about 60%; In addition, the total amount of leather products and bags imported by Australia from China was 516 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 0.4%. According to BBC sources, another key point in the China Australia Free Trade Agreement is that Chinese exporters export clothing to Australia