submission to the joint standing committee on treaties ... · submission to the joint standing...

Cheryl Kalisch Gordon [email protected] A p p e n d i x P a g e | 1

Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties inquiry to the Trans

Pacific Partnership Agreement

March 2016

mailto:[email protected]

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GrainGrowers is an independent and technically resourced, grain farmer representative organisation

with 17,500 members across Australia. GrainGrowers’ goal is a more efficient, sustainable and

profitable grain production sector that benefits all Australia grain farmers and the wider grains

industry. GrainGrowers has three divisions which work cooperatively to achieve improved grain

industry outcomes: 1) On-farm Information Services, 2) Industry capacity building, and 3) Policy and

Advocacy

Trade & Market Access is a key focus within Policy and Advocacy and GrainGrowers has the specific

aim to:

Drive the development and implementation of positive international trade and market access

outcomes for the Australian grains industry and its customers.

GrainGrowers makes this submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) inquiry

into the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), in support of the Agreement. The TPP is an

agreement that:

Has the potential to facilitate efficiencies in grain supply chains therefore delivering additional

value to both importing and exporting nations in the region;

Encompasses two of Australia’s top 5 export grain markets in Japan and Vietnam, as well as New

Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia which in total account for approaching 20% of Australia’s grain

exports;

Includes Australia’s top two grain competitors in the United States and Canada, and excludes a

range of low cost suppliers (Argentina, India, Black sea countries); and

Our industry cannot afford for Australia to not be a signatory. If the TPP goes ahead without

Australia, our grains industry will lose competitiveness for almost 20% of our exports. This

proportion increases to more than 35% if Indonesia were to join the TPP, an interest that

Indonesia has expressed.

As such, we congratulate the Minister for Trade and Investment, together with Australia’s trade

negotiators and officials, in negotiating Australia’s position in this agreement. There are important

provisions in TPP for our industry, as detailed on the following pages, along with evidence

supporting the value of the TPP markets to our industry. I also attach a copy of a detailed industry

brief on the TPP and its implications for our industry (Appendix A).

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to your inquiry. GrainGrowers support the TPP

agreement and encourages the Committee to recommend to Parliament its adoption. I am happy to

expand on this submission if that would be useful to the inquiry.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Cheryl Kalisch Gordon

Manager, Trade & Market Access

[email protected]


P a g e | 3

TPP member nations account for a significant share of

Australia’s Grain exports

The TPP includes five of Australia’s important grain export markets in Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, New

Zealand and Singapore. Total Australian grain trade to TPP nations was valued at $AUD 1.9 billion

during 2014-15, accounting for 17 percent of Australian grain export value during that period.

Wheat is Australia’s leading grain export and over 20% of Australia’s wheat is sold into TPP nation

markets (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Australian Grain Exports (% to TPP nations)

Japan, a TPP negotiating nation, has long been an important market for Australian grains, and is so

for the range of Australian grains (see Figure 2). In particular, Japan has been an important

customer of Australian wheat and a customer prepared over time to pay premiums for particular

Australian noodle wheats. Competition for wheat sales to Japan is strong given the mature and

discerning nature of the market. Japan has also traditionally been an important customer for

Australian canola, barley sorghum and pulses. Australia has preferential access for canola oil, feed

grain and feed barley, some pulses and sorghum, but not for milling wheats or malt barley, under

JAEPA (Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement).

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Figure 2. Value of Australian exports to TPP Countries by grain

Vietnam is a growing market for Australian grains. The value of wheat exports in particular has

grown at an average annual compound rate of 22% over the past 10 years, and growth in the market

can only be expected to grow as the Vietnamese population continues to grow and the trend of

increasing westernisation of diets continues. ASEAN-ANZ-FTA (ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free

Trade Agreement) preferential access (0% for most grains by 2016, and 0% for the balance by 2018)

for Australian grains further provides the basis for growth in the Vietnamese market going forward.

Malaysia and Singapore have been consistent buyers of Australian grains, wheat in particular, over

many years. Both nations afford 0% MFN (Most Favoured Nation rate under World Trade

Organisation) on relevant grains. The countries are important to Australia given the comparatively

low freight rates from Australia and are important buyers of container consignments and niche

grains. In recent years, an increasing amount of Indian and Black Sea region origin wheat has been

imported to these markets, providing significant price competition for Australian wheat.

New Zealand remains an important market for Australian grains. With complementary agricultural

systems and a significant freight advantage, Australia is New Zealand’s primary supplier of wheat

and canola (more than 85% of imports). In recent years however Australia has accounted for a

declining proportion of some grains imports, including barley and sorghum.

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Indonesia is not an original negotiating member of the TPP, however has expressed interest in

joining the TPP. Indonesia is Australia’s number one wheat market and is set to become the world’s

largest wheat importing nation by the end of the decade on the back of population growth, an

increasing middle class and increasing westernization of diets. Should Indonesia join the TPP,

Australia’s share of grain finding accounted for under the TPP would increase to 35%.

A number of existing trade agreements contribute to our

grains competitiveness in the TPP region

Australia already has ‘free’ or ‘enhanced’ trade agreements with a number of the TPP negotiating

countries which provide Australian grains with an enhanced competitive position.

The TPP builds on and expands the existing trade agreements that Australia has in place in terms of

market access (tariffs and quotas) and introduces a range of harmonisation, transparency and

operational elements designed to streamline the movement of goods and services across the region.

However, if Australia does not join the TPP, those who do join the TPP will be afforded the benefit of

more efficient supply chains, and the benefits that our industry has gained under existing trade

agreements will be equalled, without exception1, by our competitors and in many cases surpassed.

It is important to note that Australian exporters will be able to choose the agreement under which

they supply goods during the implementation period of the TPP. This is relevant where a tariff

reduction under an earlier Australian agreement is more advanced in its tariff reduction schedule,

than agreed to under the TPP.

An example of this would be in the export of canola oil to Japan. Under JAEPA Australian canola oil

to Japan was granted tariff elimination over 11 instalments, meaning that by April 2016, Australian

canola oil will enter Japan with a 27 percent lower tariff than canola oil from other nations without

preferential access. Under the TPP, all TPP members will be granted tariff elimination over six

instalments. On the basis that TPP enters in force (EIF) in 2016, Australian canola oil will have

preferential access under JAEPA until and including 2017, however beyond that should export under

the TPP Agreement would be preferential. The year at which TPP becomes preferable depends on

the year that TPP enters into force (see Figure 3).

1 At full implementation

P a g e | 6

Figure 3 Japanese Canola Oil Tariff Reduction under JAEPA v TPP

A range of provisions have the potential to unlock value in

grain supply chains in the region

Change in access to the Japanese market is the most significant market access gain for Australian

grains under the TPP. The improvements come as a combination of reduced mark-ups and additional

quota access on milling grade wheats and malt barley. Currently, mark-ups on Japanese imports of

wheat and barley equate to almost $AUD200/tonne and $AUD100/tonne respectively. Under the

agreement, these mark ups will be almost halved over the first 9 years of the agreement for grain

sold via the Simultaneous-Buy-Sell System used by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and

Forestry.

Australia achieved 20 percent of the growing additional wheat quota offered by Japan in the

Agreement, which is above the medium-term average proportion of their wheat imports that

Australia has supplied. These improvements are accompanied by equivalence to all TPP nations on

feed barley and wheat, and the unrestricted access Australia achieved for these under JAEPA.

Technical access is of course not assured by the negotiation of free trade agreements. Trade

agreements have to date been unable to meaningfully accommodate the introduction of non-tariff

barriers to trade. With respect to technical access issues, the TPP includes the WTO Technical

Barriers to Trade Agreement which commits members to apply technical regulations in ways that are

non-discriminatory, do not create unnecessary barriers to trade, and are based on international

standards. The TPP seeks commitment from all parties to increase cooperation and transparency on

P a g e | 7

technical barriers and establishes a Technical Barriers to Trade Committee, which has

representatives from all TPP countries. Conditions relating to technical requirements for a range of

products (including organic products, wine and spirits, medical devices and cosmetics) have been

incorporated with the agreement, but grains have not been captured in these.

The Technical Barriers to Trade provisions in TPP do not in and of themselves present a solution to

technical barriers to trade, but do highlight the importance technical barriers are playing in world

trade, and the agreement does include a specific committee which facilitates resolution of technical

trade issues (including a third party witness provision). Ensuring Australian government

representation to these committees are well resourced will be key to their being meaningful

technical access harmonisation in the TPP, and the value of these provisions overall will be

demonstrated only when the Agreement comes into force.

The agreement does improve access for Australian grains and grain products across the region and

also removes some of the protections that competitor grain producing nations have had (such as

Canada and US will remove import tariffs on grain from some TPP countries that still have barriers to

access to those countries), however it also means that other countries will achieve market access

equivalence either immediately or over time. For example, under the Australia-NZ-ASEAN FTA,

tariffs on Australian wheat imported to Vietnam are abolished as of 2016, compared to Vietnam’s

MFN wheat tariff of five percent. TPP nations will all have a zero percent tariff on wheat from the

time TPP enters into force. A summary of the market access provisions by grain and by country is

provided in the industry briefing paper developed by GrainGrowers (Section 4 of the attached

Appendix).

The following is a list of some of the general provisions within TPP that will influence trade flows,

and benefit the grain supply chains in the region. The extent to which they will is unlikely to be

gauged until after the Agreement comes into force because the language around some of these

provisions is not specific.

The general provisions include:

Member countries agree to improved transparency on import licensing. Great transparency

on licensing, trade volumes and trade processes allows for greater efficiency in supply

chains. Any provisions that increase the information available to buyers and sellers will

increase the efficiency, and therefore value, in the supply chain. It is not possible to

speculate on the extent of the additional value.

Import administration levies and fees may not be charged on an ad valorem basis, but must

be related to the cost of service provision. This provision removes the relationship between

price and import charge and encourages transparency in the charge applied.

Export subsidies are expressly prohibited (with the exception of US export credits which

have been classified as export competition measures). Given Australian grain is grown and

export without any production, supply or export subsidies, any measure that approaches a

more level playing field encourages greater efficiency in production across the TPP and will

contribute to greater competitiveness for Australian grains.

P a g e | 8

Measures to encourage more transparency on food security import and export

arrangements. Again, it is difficult to determine the extent of the value of this provision,

however greater transparency will encourage food aid, to truly be food aid and, not

distortionary trade.

The rules outlining what qualifies as a TPP originating good are done on a product by

product basis. Grains and legumes will be considered to be of TPP origin if they are wholly

obtained or produced in one or more TPP country. Malt and vegetable oils will be

considered to be of TPP origin provided the malting of the grain or processing of the oil

occurs in one or more TPP country. In addition, a general de minimis (minimal amount

commitments) provision allows for up to 10 percent of the value of these products to come

from a non-TPP country. This provision ensures that the benefits of TPP membership accrue

within the TPP.

The formation of a specific Agriculture Committee to address agricultural trade issues. This

is a promotion from a sub-committee which is routinely the case for agriculture in trade

agreements. We anticipate this elevation to allow for greater and faster resolution of trade

disputes and agreement violations in relation to our industry.

Additional general provisions, likely to present an immediate cost saving to exporters are in relation

to certification include:

Claims for tariff preferences will be made through self-certification.

A single set of rules of origin for all 12 countries so that only one Origin Certification is

required to satisfy the import requirements of all TPP nations.

Currently, the issue of a certificate of origin costs in the order of $36 per document, and a certificate

is generally required for each importer. As such the self-certification provision on a bulk grain

shipment to Vietnam may save as little as $36, but equally may save around $700 as it is not unusual

for a bulk shipment to deliver to 20 importers.

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The competitive position of Australian grain in the region will be undermined if Australia is not an original

signatory to the TPP Agreement

The United States and Canada, competitors of Australia in international grain supply, are key

members of the TPP. The TPP builds on the liberalised trade they enjoy as part of the North

American Free Trade Agreement and provides, over time for equivalence with Australia in many

grain markets (e.g. Vietnam) and preferential access to the very important Japanese market.

If Australia is not a signatory to the TPP, Canada and the United States will:

gain access to a TPP wide barley quota (additional to WTO quota commitments) for Japan;

gain access to country specific wheat quotas for milling grades of wheat (over and above

World Trade Organisation quota commitments) for Japan; and

will be become increasingly more price competitive in the Japanese market than Australian

origin wheat and barley as the mark up on Canadian and US wheat and barley imports via

the Japanese Simultaneous-Buy-Sell falls by 45% over 9 years, but not on Australia wheat

and barley.

Important in the context of North America, especially the United States is the reduction in

corn/maize tariffs offered across the TPP. Australia is not a leading corn/maize producer but does

have an important industry (worth an average of $36 million p.a. 2013-15) including premium sales

into Japan and other TPP nations. Preferential access to product from the United States under the

TPP would serve to add to the already challenging market environment for Australian origin maize.

P a g e | 10

APPENDIX A:

The Trans Pacific Partnership and Australian Grain

(Industry Brief, December 2015)


The Trans Pacific Partnership

and

Australian Grains INDUSTRY BRIEF: December 2015

By being in the TPP, Australian grain exports will gain greater, and more liberal, access to

Japan.

If Australia is not in the TPP, Canada and the United States will achieve preferential access to

Japan.

Australia has negotiated a country-specific wheat quota access provision to Japan which is

above our medium-term average proportion of Japanese wheat imports.

In some instances, TPP elimination schedules will expedite the tariff elimination achieved

under Australia’s existing agreements.

In some instances, Australian origin grains have/will have preferential access to key markets

until TPP enters into force/ahead of the TPP provisions, so that marketers should take

advantage of this and establish enhanced market presence ahead of competitors.

The market access benefits of TPP to the Australian grain industry will not be immediate, but

rather a culmination of benefits over time. The benefits of harmonisation of systems and

operations will likely be significant, but again will accrue over time, and will accrue as the

collection of a large number of small cost savings.

This document provides an overview of the general and specific provisions as they relate to

the trade of Australian grains in the TPP.

Prepared by: Dr C Kalisch Gordon Senior Economist Manager, Trade & Market Access [email protected]




Contents

Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 2

1. Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 3

2. When will the TPP come into force? ............................................................................................... 6

3. General Provisions........................................................................................................................... 7

4. Specific grain provisions .................................................................................................................. 8

4.1 Wheat ........................................................................................................................................ 8

4.2 Barley ....................................................................................................................................... 10

4.3 Sorghum .................................................................................................................................. 13

4.4 Pulses ....................................................................................................................................... 14

4.5 Canola ...................................................................................................................................... 15

5. Other grain suppliers in the TPP ....................................................................................................... 16

Glossary ................................................................................................................................................. 16



1. Overview The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement between the 12 Pacific Rim nations of

Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United

States and Vietnam. Agricultural exports to TPP countries were worth about $AUD 15 billion during

2014-15 which is about 35 percent of Australia’s total agricultural exports.

The TPP includes five of Australia’s important grain export markets in Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, New

Zealand and Singapore. Total Australian grain trade to TPP nations was valued at $AUD 1.9 billion

during 2014-15, accounting for 17 percent of Australian grain exports during that period. Wheat

makes up the bulk of grain exports to TPP countries (Figure 1).

Figure 1



Australia already has ‘free’ or ‘enhanced’ trade agreements with a number of the TPP negotiating

countries, including:

Australia-NZ-ASEAN FTA (which includes the TPP negotiating countries of Brunei, Malaysia,

New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam) (effective since 1 January 2010);

Australia-Chile FTA (effective since 6 March 2009);

Australia-US FTA (effective since 1 January 2005):

Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) (effective since 15 January 2015);

and

other earlier agreements.

The TPP builds on and expands the existing trade agreements that Australia has in place in terms of

market access (tariffs and quotas) and introduces a range of harmonisation, transparency and

operational elements designed to streamline the movement of goods and services across the region.

Change in access to the Japanese market is the most significant market access gain for Australian

grains under the TPP. The improvements come as a combination of reduced mark-ups and additional

quota access on milling grade wheats and malt barley. Currently, mark-ups on Japanese imports of

wheat and barley equate to almost $AUD200/tonne and $AUD100/tonne respectively.

Australia achieved 20 percent of the growing additional wheat quota offered by Japan in the

Agreement, which is above the medium-term average proportion of their wheat imports that

Australia has supplied. These improvements are accompanied by equivalence to all TPP nations on

feed barley and wheat, on the unrestricted access Australia achieved for these under JAEPA.

Technical access is of course not assured by the negotiation of free trade agreements. Trade

agreements have to date been unable to meaningfully accommodate the introduction of non-tariff

barriers to trade. With respect to technical access issues, the TPP includes the WTO Technical

Barriers to Trade Agreement which commits members to apply technical regulations in ways that are

non-discriminatory, do not create unnecessary barriers to trade, and are based on international

standards. The TPP seeks commitment from all parties to increase cooperation and transparency on

technical barriers and establishes a Technical Barriers to Trade Committee, which has

representatives from all TPP countries. Conditions relating to technical requirements for a range of

products (including organic products, wine and spirits, medical devices and cosmetics) have been

incorporated with the agreement, but grains have not been captured in these.

The Technical Barriers to Trade provisions in TPP do not in and of themselves present a solution to

technical barriers to trade, but do highlight the importance technical barriers are playing in world

trade, and the agreement does include a specific committee which facilitates resolution of technical

trade issues (including a third party witness provision). Ensuring Australian government

representation to these committees are well resourced will be key to their being meaningful

technical access harmonisation in the TPP, and the value of these provisions overall will be

demonstrated only when the Agreement comes into force.



The agreement does improve access for Australian grains and grain products across the region and

also removes some of the protections that competitor grain producing nations have had (such as

Canada and US will remove import tariffs on grain from some TPP countries that still have barriers to

access to those countries), however it also means that other countries will achieve market access

equivalence either immediately or over time. For example, under the Australia-NZ-ASEAN FTA,

tariffs on Australian wheat imported to Vietnam will be abolished by 2016, compared to Vietnam’s

MFN wheat tariff of five percent. TPP nations will all have a zero percent tariff on wheat from the

time TPP enters into force. A summary of the market access provisions by grain and by country is

provided in Sections 4 of this document.

It is important to note that Australian exporters will be able to choose the agreement under which

they supply goods. This is relevant where a tariff reduction under an earlier Australian agreement is

more advanced in its tariff reduction schedule, than agreed to under the TPP.

An example of this would be in the export of canola oil to Japan. Under JAEPA Australian canola oil

to Japan was granted tariff elimination over 11 instalments, meaning that by April 2016, Australian

canola oil will enter Japan with a 27 percent lower tariff than canola oil from other nations without

preferential access. Under the TPP, all TPP members will be granted tariff elimination over six

instalments. On the basis that TPP enters in force (EIF) in 2016, Australian canola oil will have

preferential access under JAEPA until and including 2017, however beyond that should export under

the TPP Agreement would be preferential. The year at which TPP becomes preferable depends on

the year that TPP enters into force (see Figure 2).

Figure 2



2. When will the TPP come into force? TPP negotiations have been undertaken over the past five years and were completed during October

2015, with the full text becoming available on 5 November 2015. Australia and the 11 other TPP

countries are working towards signing the TPP in 2016, after which each will undertake its own

domestic treaty making procedures to bring the agreement into effect.

In Australia, that process includes, but is not limited to, the TPP Agreement and a National Interest

Analysis being tabled in Parliament for 20 joint sitting days, a Joint Standing Committee on Treaties

inquiry to the Agreement and parliamentary consideration of any legislative amendments necessary

to implement the Agreement.

The TPP will enter into force 60 days after all original signatories have notified completion of their

domestic legal procedures. If this has not occurred within two years of signature, the Agreement will

enter into force 60 days after the expiry of that two -year period if at least six original signatories

accounting for 85 percent of the combined GDP of the original signatories, have ratified the

Agreement.

There is provision for the Agreement to enter into force for late entrant countries from the original

12, provided certain requirements are met. Non-negotiating countries (i.e. outside of the initial 12),

may join subsequent to TPP entry into force provided the 12 original signatories agree to their

accession, which would require further domestic legal approvals in some original TPP parties.

Indonesia, for example, has expressed interest in joining the TPP.

There is considerable uncertainty regarding the possible timing of entry into force. In effect, the 85

percent of GDP requirement means that if the US and Japan do not ratify the Agreement, it will not

enter into force. The nuances of domestic politics in these two nations are therefore the greatest

influences on the timing of the TPP entry into force.



3. General Provisions

The following is a list of some of the general provisions within TPP that will improve trade flows. The

extent to which they will is unlikely to be gauged until after the Agreement comes into force because

the language around some of these provisions is not specific.

The general provisions include:

Member countries agree to improved transparency on import licensing.

Import administration levies and fees may not be charged on an ad valorem basis, but must

be related to the cost of service provision.

Export subsidies are expressly prohibited (with the exception of US export credits which

have been classified as export competition measures).

Measures to encourage more transparency on food security import and export

arrangements.

The formation of a Biotechnology Working Group with the aim of increasing transparency

and transfer of information between countries.

The rules outlining what qualifies as a TPP originating good are done on a product by

product basis. Grains and legumes will be considered to be of TPP origin if they are wholly

obtained or produced in one or more TPP country. Malt and vegetable oils will be

considered to be of TPP origin provided the malting of the grain or processing of the oil

occurs in one or more TPP country. In addition, a general de minimis provision allows for up

to 10 percent of the value of these products to come from a non-TPP country.

The formation of a specific Agriculture Committee to address agricultural trade issues. This

is a promotion from a sub-committee which is routinely the case for agriculture in trade

agreements.

Additional general provisions, likely to present an immediate cost saving to exporters are in relation

to certification include:

Claims for tariff preferences will be made through self-certification.

A single set of rules of origin for all 12 countries so that only one Origin Certification is

required to satisfy the import requirements of all TPP nations.



4. Specific grain provisions

4.1 Wheat

The key market access provisions of note for Australian wheat are in relation to Japan. For Japan,

the TPP includes a plurilateral commitment to reduce its 17 yen /kg mark-up with-n quota for

Japan’s existing WTO access quota, by 45 percent over nine years (out of quota bound rates would

still apply).

In addition, it has made available additional (to WTO commitments) quota of 192,000 tonnes,

growing to 253,000 tonnes over nine years, shared between the USA, Canada and Australia, broadly

on the basis of historical trade (see Table 1). The quota will be traded under the SBS and cover tariff

lines 100110.010, 100190.011, 100190.019 and 100890.021, with a slight difference in the mark-up

reduction between Group 1 (DNS, HRW, WW, CWRS and ASW (Japan Blend)), and Group 2 (All other

types) (see Table 1 below).

Table 1: Japan’s country-specific wheat quota offers within TPP

Year Quota Volume Mark-up (yen/kg)

USA Canada Australia Group 1 Group 2

1 114,000 40,000 38,000 16.2 16.1

2 120,000 42,167 40,000 15.3 15.1

3 126,000 44,333 42,000 14.5 14.2

4 132,000 46,500 44,000 13.6 13.2

5 138,000 84,667 46,000 12.8 12.3

6 144,000 50,833 48,000 11.9 11.3

7 150,000 53,000 50,000 11.1 10.4

8 150,000 53,000 50,000 10.2 9.4

9+ 150,000 53,000 50,000 9.4 8.5

Under JAEPA, Australia obtained duty free access for feed wheat imported to Japan outside of the

current WTO Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) mechanism. Japan will extend this to TPP wide, which will

have the secondary effect of creating additional space for imports of food wheat duty-free under the

5.7 million metric ton WTO quota.

To note:



Wheat is eligible for import to Japan under the Australian quota if it is harvested in Australia. The quota will be administered by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Under the TPP, wheat access to the growing market of Vietnam will also liberalised, with tariff

elimination. Vietnam will eliminate its tariff on wheat (currently five percent MFN) on entry into

force, however for Australian origin wheat, the tariff will be eliminated in 2016 in any case, under

the Australia-New Zealand ASEAN FTA.

Other wheat tariff changes within TPP are shown in Table 2. Table 2: Market Access for Australian Wheat in the TPP

Australia’s current wheat

tariff on entry

TPP provision

Mexico 67% Tariffs eliminated TPP wide over 10 years

Peru 9% MFN Elimination on EIF TPP wide

Chile 6% MFN plus specific duty under Chile’s price band

system

Countries granted access equivalent to what they have under existing FTAs, for Australia wheat tariffs and the price band will be eliminated on EIF

Vietnam 5% MFN, eliminated for Australia in 2016 under

AUS-NZ-ASEANFTA

5% eliminated for all TPP on EIF

Malaysia 0% MFN No change

Singapore 0% MFN No change

Brunei 0% MFN No change

Canada $1.90/tonne MFN within access commitment, 49%

over

Eliminated on EIF for all TPP

US 0% (US Australia FTA) 0.35c/kg (Common) to 0.65c/kg (Durum) removed for all TPP on EIF. No change for Australia.

New Zealand 0% MFN No change

* MFN = most favoured nation.



4.2 Barley

Under the TPP, the most significant concessions for barley are also into Japan. Japan will eliminate

its tariff on barley for feed, which is currently 39 yen per kilogram (about 255 percent ad valorem

equivalent) on imports outside of its WTO TRQ for all TPP imports, which brings other TPP countries

into line with Australia’s feed barley access achieved under JAEPA.

Japan will also create a new 25,000-metric-ton TPP-wide quota for barley that will grow to 65,000

tons over nine years. Japan will reduce its mark-up on barley imports by 45 percent over the period

for imports under the quota, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Japanese Barley Quota offered under TPP and Mark-up reductions

Year Quota volume (TPP wide) Tariff line 100300.019

Mark-up (yen/kg)

1 25,000 7.6

2 30,000 7.2

3 35,000 6.8

4 40,000 6.4

5 45,000 6

6 50,000 5.6

7 55,000 5.2

8 60,000 4.8

9 65,000 4.4

Other barley concessions are shown in Table 4.



Table 4: Market Access for Australian Barley under TPP

Australia’s current barley tariff on entry TPP provision

Mexico 115% Eliminated TPP wide over 5 years

Peru 9% MFN Elimination TPP wide over 6 years.

Chile 6% MFN Elimination on EIF

Vietnam 0% MFN No change




Canada $0.99/tonne MFN for malting within access commitment, 94.5% over

Eliminated on EIF for all TPP

US 0% (US Australia FTA) No change for Australian barley. All duties eliminated on EIF for all TPP


Japan will also establish new country specific quotas for imports of unroasted and one for roasted.

malt. Under the TPP, within-quota malt exports, as listed in the following table, will be duty free on EIF (Table 5).



Table 5: Roasted and unroasted malt quotas offered by Japan under TPP

Year

Quota volume – roasted malt

Tariff line 110720.020

Quota volume - unroasted malt

Tariff line 110710.029

USA Canada Australia USA Canada Australia

(TPP)

Australia

(JAEPA)

1 700 4,000 3,000 20,000 89,000 72,000 39,560

2 735 4,000 3,000 22,400 89,000 72,000 47,300

3 770 4,000 3,000 24,800 89,000 72,000 55,040

4 805 4,000 3,000 27,200 89,000 72,000 62,780

5 840 4,000 3,000 29,600 89,000 72,000 70,520

6 875 4,000 3,000 32,000 89,000 72,000 78,260

7 910 4,000 3,000 32,000 89,000 72,000 86,000

8 945 4,000 3,000 32,000 89,000 72,000 86,000

9 980 4,000 3,000 32,000 89,000 72,000 86,000

10 1,015 4,000 3,000 32,000 89,000 72,000 86,000

11+ 1,050 4,000 3,000 32,000 89,000 72,000 86,000

Australia has been allocated 72,000 tonnes of unroasted malt duty free access under TPP from EIF.

However under JAEPA, the quota volume grows to 86,000 over seven years. Under TPP, Australia

will be entitled to either the JAEPA or TPP volume whichever is greatest (they are not additive), and

the time at which that occurs will depend on when TPP is entered into force. Current tariffs will

remain in place for out of quota imports.

To note:

Malt is eligible for import to Japan under the Australian quota if it is produced in Australia from barley harvested in Australia.

Quotas will be administered by Japan through a ‘first come, first served’ import licensing procedure pursuant to which a certificate of tariff rate quota shall be issued by Japan.



4.3 Sorghum

TPP Provisions for Sorghum are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Sorghum market access provisions under TPP

Australia’s current

sorghum tariff on entry

TPP provision

Japan 0% under JAEPA Elimination of 3% TPP wide on EIF

Mexico 0% No change

Peru 9% plus specific duty under Peru’s price band system

9% is eliminated on EIF for all TPP, but specific duty remains

Chile 6% MFN Eliminated on EIF for all TPP

Vietnam 5% is eliminated in 2016 under AANZFTA

Eliminated on EIF for all TPP.




Canada 0% MFN No change

US 0% (US Australia FTA) No change




4.4 Pulses

TPP Provisions for pulses are shown in Table 7.

Table 7: Pulse market access provisions under TPP

Australia’s current pulse

tariff on entry

TPP provision

Japan A range of tariffs some which were reduced under JAEPA (e.g . Chickpeas 0%) and others that were not

(e.g. Adzuki Beans 10% within quota, 345y/kg otherwise)

Rates of 6 – 10% will be eliminated on EIF for in-quota volumes, and over 11 years for out of quota volumes, TPP wide.

Mexico Mostly 10% (except black and white beans which are

at 125%)

Eliminated on EIF TPP wide (black & white beans over 15 years)

Peru Range from 0 – 9% Eliminated on EIF for all TPP, or over 6 stages.

Chile 6% Eliminated on EIF for all TPP.

Vietnam 10%. Under AANZFTA, all Australian pulses enter duty free by 2018.

Eliminated over 3 stages.


Singapore 0% MFN No changes

Brunei 0% No change

Canada 0-2% Eliminated on EIF

US 0% AUS-US FTA Up to 1.5c/kg Eliminated for all TPP on EIF

New Zealand 0% No Change



4.5 Canola

TPP Provisions for canola and canola oil are shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Canola and canola oil market access provisions under TPP

Australia’s current

Canola tariff on

entry

TPP provision Australia’s

current canola oil

tariff on entry

TPP provision

Japan 0% No change 10.9 – 13.2y/kg

Being eliminated in 11 equal cuts. currently reduced by 27%

10.9 – 13.2y/kg

Will be eliminated over 6 years for all TPP.

Mexico 0% No change 0% No Change

Peru 0% No change 0% on crude, 9% on refined

9% eliminated on EIF for all TPP

Chile 6% MFN Eliminated on EIF TPP Wide

6% Eliminated on EIF for all TPP

Vietnam 10% MFN eliminated in 2016 under AANZFTA. Currently 5%

Eliminated on EIF TPP wide

Crude: 5% eliminated in 2016 under AANZFTA

Refined: 10% under AANZFTA and eliminated by 2018.

All eliminated over 5 – 7 years for all TPP

Malaysia 0% MFN No changes 0% MFN No changes

Singapore 0% MFN No change 0% No changes

Brunei 0% MFN No changes 0% No changes

Canada 0% MFN No changes 6-11% Eliminated on EIF

US 0% (US Australia FTA)

No change 0% (under Aus-US FTA)

Up to 6.4% eliminated on EIF for all TPP

New Zealand 0% MFN No changes 0% No changes



5. Other grain suppliers in the TPP The United States and Canada, competitors of Australia in international grain supply, are key

members of the TPP. The TPP builds on the liberalised trade they enjoy as part of NAFTA and

provides, over time for equivalence with Australia in many grain markets (e.g. Malaysia and

Vietnam). Important in the context of North America, especially the United States is the reduction in

corn tariffs offered across the TPP.

While not immediately of importance to Australia, it is worth noting the TPP includes commitments

from both the US and Canada to reduce their own import tariffs on grains. For example, United

States tariffs on wheat and wheat products, currently as high as 6.8 percent, will be eliminated

within 10 years. While not destinations for Australian grain, it does reduce the protection on these

industries and proceed a small way towards a more level playing field in production.

While Canada and the US are within the TPP and so overtime afforded equivalent access it is worth

highlighting the grain supplying nations which are not in the TPP: the European Union; Argentina;

Russia; and Ukraine.

Glossary

AANZFTA ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement

ad valorem levy calculated as a percentage of the estimated value of the goods

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ASW Australian Standard White

CWRS Canadian Western Red Spring

DNS US Dark Northern Spring

de minimis minimal amounts

EIF Entry Into Force

FTA Free Trade Agreement

GDP Gross Domestic Product

HRW US Hard Red Winter

JAEPA Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement

MFN Most Favoured Nation

NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement

TPP Trans Pacific Partnership

TRQ Tariff Rate Quota

WTO World Trade Organisation

WW US Western Wheat


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