South Korea Free Trade Agreement

[Cheech]

It has been announced that both countries have signed off on a bilateral FTA.

Looks like Hyundais, KIA's and Daewoos are about to get cheaper.

http://www.dfat.gov.au/fta/akfta/

[RG]

Originally Posted by Cheech

It has been announced that both countries have signed off on a bilateral FTA.

Looks like Hyundais, KIA's and Daewoos are about to get cheaper.

http://www.dfat.gov.au/fta/akfta/

Whilst yes we will (should) get cheaper Sk cars, what this means to exports (produce, agriculture etc) is huge.

[mac_man_luke]

Is it a proper FTA or like the one sided on with thailand?

[Cheech]

They are all proper FTA's.

Its just that Australia seems to stick more to the intentions of the FTA's than other countries do.

We can't control what "other" taxes another country decides to introduce.

[glider]

No point Holden continuing to make the Cruze here, cheaper to import from Korea like they used to.
Another nail for local manufacturing

[XRtowcar]

Here we go again. Bend over and get ready to take it.

[danzvtil]

faark, i just paid 5% too much for my rio :(

[rdmr]

The FTA states Sth Korea has 7 years to reduce their tariffs on manufactured goods such as car parts after the signing of it. I wonder if we are doing the same?

[Franco Cozzo]

They had a 300% tarrif on Australian potatoes, should be good for the potato growers

[kevino]

[Qwith thailand?[/QUOTE]UOTE=mac_man_luke;4955899]Is it a proper FTA or like the one sided on

Yes. Some Aus products subject to a 15% tarriff reducing over 15 years!

[malazn mafia]

Not an economist but what exactly does an FTA do for a nation apart from the more fortunate one bending over for the less privileged one. Since when did Australia owe asian nations a living???

[eb2fairmont]

Originally Posted by rdmr

The FTA states Sth Korea has 7 years to reduce their tariffs on manufactured goods such as car parts after the signing of it. I wonder if we are doing the same?

So do I have to wait 7 years before I get my Kia rio cheaper?

[mik]

Fair trade depends on who pays your wages, if you happen to be unlucky enough to be making cars in Australia then your choice of employer has been made the sacrificial lamb of industry.

[Cheech]

Originally Posted by eb2fairmont

So do I have to wait 7 years before I get my Kia rio cheaper?

Unknown at this stage as the customs tariff reflecting the changes has yet to be issued. Cars may be duty free immediately, similar to the implementation of some of the other FTA's.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by Cheech

We can't control what "other" taxes another country decides to introduce.

we can at least use the same creativity to get around the agreement.

Originally Posted by Big Damo

They had a 300% tarrif on Australian potatoes, should be good for the potato growers

wow, so potato farmers will now get 2 cents a tonne.
(seriously, I can't imagine there's much money in growing potatoes)

[stazza]

When Abbott got in I specifically remember him saying "Australia is now open for business!", ****in dick.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Cheech

They are all proper FTA's.

Its just that Australia seems to stick more to the intentions of the FTA's than other countries do.

We can't control what "other" taxes another country decides to introduce.

That's the problem...when it comes to international trade matters, Australia is a naive little child, endlessly trusting, wide eyed in its innocence, astoundingly surprised when a deal goes bad, not believing it was possible.

Farmers in Europe and the USA are heavily subsidised by the governments, and are well looked after. Here, we stubbornly believe that farmers don't need this to survive, and surely, sooner or later, the other nations will do likewise...surely they will...right...?
Same with things like the carbon tax...we were told that Australia, a country with a tiny population which contributes less than 0.1 of 1% of the carbon pollution on world totals, MUST change our ways and bring in taxes and charges, because then surely the rest of the world will see what we are doing and suddenly change and do what we are doing...right...?


When it comes to this sort of thing I'm always reminded of an image of a small boy in the playground surrounded by all the big kids, who are sniggering and trying to convince him to eat a worm, because they promise that if he does it first, they'll eat one too...promise...*snigger*...

[CyberWasp]

I am really excited about this deal because Ford can bring back the Festiva now.

[SavVYute]

Getting rid of our manufacturing industries is a great way of lowering our carbon emissions.

[DRU842]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Farmers in Europe and the USA are heavily subsidised by the governments, and are well looked after. Here, we stubbornly believe that farmers don't need this to survive, and surely, sooner or later, the other nations will do likewise...surely they will...right...?

And how much of this subsidised industry is responsible for Europe & to a lesser extent the US, current economic condition.
Why has the Australian economy been so robust for so many over the past 20 or so years?
Could it be that without the 'assistance' of Govt handouts and the ensuing red-tape, that business can get on with being productive & competitive?

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

we can at least use the same creativity to get around the agreement.



wow, so potato farmers will now get 2 cents a tonne.
(seriously, I can't imagine there's much money in growing potatoes)

I guess its better than nothing for people already growing potatoes? Has to be a reason why there was a huge tarrif on Australian potatoes.

[xtremerus]

Probably no cheaper, as we only have a 5% tarrif on them now.

[eb2fairmont]

Originally Posted by Cheech

Unknown at this stage as the customs tariff reflecting the changes has yet to be issued. Cars may be duty free immediately, similar to the implementation of some of the other FTA's.

Do they get more of our beef right now?

[tranquilized]

Who has read up on the mother of all free trade agreements - the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement. (TPP)

Countries involved currently are United States, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Chile, Singapore, Peru, Vietnam, New Zealand and Brunei.

Its a massive, all encompassing trade agreement with huge implications, particularly the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clause, which in a nutshell will allow any corporation to sue a sovereign government if they make a law or regulation they consider to be in the national interest, that impacts their profits in any way. So for example, Phillip Norris could successfully (they've already tried) sue the Australian Government for implementing plain packaging because it negatively impacts their profits.

Its all been on the table for a while now, and the previous Australian government weren't too keen on the ISDS element. But now that we're "open for business" they cant wait to get it all signed off apparently.

In summary - we're being run by a puppet government, and we're screwed.

*edit*

I haven't read a whole lot on it but what I have read is absolutely terrifying - its main goal seems to be to give american corporations more power to make profits, and to enforce their ability to make profits onto the general public of any signatory country. It's been negotiated in secret, for obvious reasons, but it was leaked on wikileaks.

https://wikileaks.org/tpp/pressrelease.html

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by eb2fairmont

Do they get more of our beef right now?

Our beef is a delicacy over there and is sold at a huge premium.

Was at a supermarket stocking up on some Soju when I walked past the meat section to see a sign proudly saying '100% AUSTRALIAN BEEF' 9,900w (about $10). I thought it was pretty cheap!...

Till I saw it was for 100g

[mik]

Originally Posted by DRU842

And how much of this subsidised industry is responsible for Europe & to a lesser extent the US, current economic condition.
Why has the Australian economy been so robust for so many over the past 20 or so years?
Could it be that without the 'assistance' of Govt handouts and the ensuing red-tape, that business can get on with being productive & competitive?

I think we have just been lucky to live off the huge amount of resources from this huge land mass we have and our small population , the truth is we are probably in top bunch of country's for being in a really good place in that respect............... however we are and have been taken down a path where our respective governments year on year have managed to spend more of the peoples money than the previous year for many years.

I think we would cruise through the world economys trouble if only our politicians would stop inventing more ways to spend more money than the country makes.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by mik

I think we have just been lucky to live off the huge amount of resources from this huge land mass we have and our small population , the truth is we are probably in top bunch of country's for being in a really good place in that respect............... however we are and have been taken down a path where our respective governments year on year have managed to spend more of the peoples money than the previous year for many years.

I think we would cruise through the world economys trouble if only our politicians would stop inventing more ways to spend more money than the country makes.

The world financial crisis was caused, basically, by the US home loan market handing out loans to people without a pot to **** in, which collapsed the banks, which fed on to the rest of the economy. Europe was built on bad debt and overbloated bureaucracies and corruption at the highest levels in shonky countries.
Subsidies to farmers they hand out are a very tiny part of it all, and something that "pays for itself" as it would be more expensive for the country to let their food production fail and be bought out by foreign interests (that sounds familiar...).

With our governments...Labor and Liberal...seeming to have only one philosophy ("There's a problem...how do we fix it...I know, a new tax!!"), you would almost think they have to keep coming up with creative ways of making sure the populace has as little spare cash as possible in their pocket at all times. But they wouldn't deliberately do that, would they...?