(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
A new Free Trade Agreement with Japan has come into effect, which the federal government says will bring major economic benefits for Australia.
It covers a wide range of industries - including agriculture and processed foods, resources, manufacturing and services.
So, what will it mean for business and consumers?
Brianna Roberts takes a look.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
Japan is Australia's second largest trading partner, and annual trade between the two countries totals more than $7 billion.
The federal government says the new deal will deliver much better access to Japanese markets for Australian exporters of beef, cheese, and other agricultural products
It says Australian consumers will benefit by having tariffs eliminated on imports of Japanese cars, household appliances and electronic goods.
CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kate Carnell, says it would be prudent for Australian businesses to take a fresh look at the Japanese market.
"There's a whole range of products that will be significantly cheaper to import into Japan. Also though, in the services sector, areas such as educational products, legal services, many things are now much more able to be exported into the Japanese market. So a good opportunity for Australian businesses to have another look at Japan as a real destination for their products and services."
The national body representing Australian vegetable and potato growers, AUSVEG, says the agreement will see reduced tariffs for products like carrots, asparagus and cabbage.
As the deal was signed, AUSVEG spokesman Hugh Gurney said it makes it much easier for Australian growers to get their products onto Japanese supermarket shelves.
"In the horticultural sector and also vegetables, but right across through fruit, preserved fruits and nuts, we have seen a number of tariff eliminations or planned phase outs of tariffs. So indeed any step which sort of does make it easier and more affordable for Australian growers to send their produce into this market which is an important one for Australian growers, is a step forward, we believe."
Tariffs on beef are halved, now just under 20 per cent, in welcome news for farmers' groups.
Dairy, however, will receive no tariff cuts.
Karl Liebich from the Australian Dairy Industry Council expected it to hurt Australian cheese exporters and limit their access to a lucrative market.
"We export about $511 million worth of dairy products into Japan every year and the majority of that are cheese-related products and tariffs on that are about 29.8 per cent. So our number one request to the government was to try and lower those tariffs. Unfortunately there has been no movement at all on that.".
Rice was left out of the agreement.
The Vice President of the Australia-Japan Business Cooperation Committee, Ian Williams, says he believes there are important historical reasons for that.
"You have to kind of remember the history of Japan. In very simple terms, in the Edo Period, a person's wealth was measured in how much rice they had. So it's the most difficult area. It's got a lot of politics involved and rice is kind of the basis of Japanese society."
Cheaper imports of Japanese goods under the new agreement, will be welcome news for many consumers.
However, Dr Patricia Ranald from the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network believes the move towards reducing car tariffs will hurt the car industry.
"I think combined with the (South) Korea free trade agreement, this agreement will hasten the demise of the car industry in Australia, which means the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. It will be very difficult for car parts manufacturers to compete for exports to places like Japan, given the phasing out of tariffs."
Dr Len Perry from the University of Technology in Sydney has conducted extensive research on free trade agreements.
He believes it is difficult to please all sectors of the economy and it is commonplace for some sectors to gain more favourable market access than others.
"Sometimes I think it's better to call these free trade agreements, 'freer' trade agreements because there is a lot of technical detail that is negotiated and hammered out as to what's acceptable for both parties."
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