What is a free trade agreement? An FTA is an international treaty that removes barriers to trade between two or more countries. They allow stronger trade and commercial ties to develop, contributing to increased economic integration. They can cover entire regions with multiple participants or link just two countries.
How many jobs will the agreement create? The government has not said how many jobs the FTA will create because it does not know. However, economists generally say the FTA should lead to an increase in Australian jobs because local companies that export to China will have an incentive to produce and export more.
What will we get cheaper? Australian consumers are expected to enjoy cheaper household goods, electronics and clothing from Chinese companies, while Chinese vehicles and component parts will also be cheaper. Those things will help to reduce the cost of living in Australia.
Who wins? It contains unprecedented access for Australian service providers across most sectors including health, tourism and travel, financial, engineering, legal, education, telecommunications, construction, aged-care services, mining and extractive industries, manufacturing, architecture, urban planning and transport. The FTA also contains significant wins for the horticulture, agriculture, wine, dairy, wool and beef industries.
Who loses? Australian sugar, wheat, canola, cotton, rice and maize producers got nothing. Those products were non-negotiable from China's perspective. Cotton, sugar and rice producers will have to wait at least three years until tariffs on their products are reviewed. Sugar is seen as one of the biggest losers from the deal. The government says it had to set these industries aside in the negotiations in order to push the agreement forward.
What's next? The government now turns its attention to India, and to the ongoing negotiations with the US.