John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Will the minister update the House on the importance of a strong relationship with the United States?

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity to congratulate President-elect Trump on his victory yesterday and to reflect on the fact that Australia's relationship with the United States is underpinned by shared values—the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and free enterprise. These values will continue to define our relationship and ensure that the United States remains a vitally important partner for Australia. This is certainly true in terms of our trade and investment ties. As the Prime Minister mentioned earlier, last year Australia and the United States celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement. Two-way trade between Australia and the United States has increased from some $41 billion in 2004, the year prior to the US FTA coming into force, to now more than $70 billion in 2015. In fact, in 2004 only 46 per cent of imports from Australia entered the United States tariff free. Now, thanks to that agreement secured under the coalition, some 96.1 per cent of imports from Australia enter the United States tariff free. Further Australian imports into the US under preferential Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement tariff rates. On the 10th anniversary of the Australia-US FTA, on 1 January 2015, we saw the removal of remaining tariffs on wine, textiles, surgical materials and bedding.

The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement will continue to deliver benefits for Australian businesses and, by 2023, 98.4 per cent of all US tariff lines will be completely duty-free for Australia. The United States is of course our largest source and destination of foreign investment, worth some $1.45 trillion as of 2015, and it is our second-largest trading partner as well. The United States market continues to promise Australian businesses boundless opportunities. We as a government are certainly very committed to building on our strong relationship through a range of initiatives, including complementary Australia-US business weeks and the G'day USA programs, and our investment in the relationship is reflected in the recent opening of a consulate-general in Houston and a new investment promotion office in Boston. The fact is, the strength of our relationship with the US will continue, and we see that also reflected in our strong people-to-people links.

It was, frankly, passing strange that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition rose before to ask a question about renegotiated free trade agreements. It was Labor's policy at the last election to tear up any agreements containing ISDS and to renegotiate them, so how utterly bizarre that she would stand and ask a question about a policy which Labor itself has adopted.