Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade and Investment) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my friend and colleague, the member for Calare, for the question. Since taking office, we have been determined to replace debt fuelled government spending with private sector activity to drive sustainable growth in our economy. It is why we are determined to live within our means. It is also why we aggressively pursued three free-trade agreements with Korea, Japan and China. These transformational agreements account for 61 per cent of our goods exports and 19 per cent of our services trade. They send a signal to the region and to the world that Australia is open for business.

When the Abbott government came to office, these negotiations had run into the sand, despite years of talk. This was not good enough, especially when competitors were already capturing our market share. The free-trade agreement with Korea, for instance, will see 99.8 per cent of Korea's tariffs eliminated on full implementation. It is outstanding agreement. Independent modelling shows that agricultural exports to Korea will be 73 per cent higher after 15 years and manufacturing exports will be 53 per cent higher after 15 years. That will create jobs, jobs and more jobs.

Our FTA with Japan is the first Japan has signed with any major agricultural exporter, giving more than 97 per cent of our exports duty-free or preferential entry into the world's third largest economy. Australian consumers will enjoy cheaper imports, notably of cars, household goods and electronic consumer goods. Australian service providers will gain significant access to finance, education, telecommunications and legal services.

Under the historic China free-trade agreement, more than 95 per cent of Australia's good and exports will enter China duty-free. On services, we have secured unrivalled access to China, unlike any country in the world. In fact, in the years and decades ahead, much of the growth that will come about as a result of this China free-trade agreement will be because of this extraordinary service offering.

But the job is not done. A trade deal with India is the next objective. They are massive market of 1.2 billion people. We are also pushing hard to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Again, they are agreements that will deliver greater prosperity and millions of jobs over the decades ahead. These are all groundbreaking deals that will give Australian business a winning edge in major markets, drive growth and create jobs for generations to come.

See this speech in context