Senate debates

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Questions without Notice

Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

2:27 pm

Photo of Mathias CormannMathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fawcett for that question. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, alongside our free trade agreements with China, South Korea and Japan, will help Australian exporting businesses be more successful. By helping them be more successful, by helping them to grow their businesses more strongly, it will help them employ more Australians.

The feedback I was getting in Lima at the IMF and the World Bank Annual Meetings this weekend from a number of colleagues from the Asia-Pacific was what an outstanding job our trade minister Andrew Robb had done in helping to achieve a successful landing for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. What an outstanding job he has done. Australia is a trading nation. We are an open economy. To maximise our success as a trading nation we need to be as productive as possible, as competitive as possible, as innovative as possible; but we also need to ensure we have the best possible access to all of our key markets overseas.

This historic Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement will deliver enormous benefits to Australia. By establishing a more seamless trade in the investment environment across 12 countries, it will help our exporters get more competitive access to 40 per cent of our world economy. It slashes barriers to Australian exports of goods and services and investment by eliminating 98 per cent of all tariffs across everything—from beef, dairy, wine, sugar, rice, horticultural products and seafood through to manufactured goods, and resources and energy

It is particularly helpful in the high-skill, high-wages services sector. But, importantly, this agreement, with an open architecture, allows— (Time expired)

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