Australia Strengthens Trade Agreement With ASEAN

At the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) summit in Phnom Penh, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined his ASEAN and New Zealand counterparts to announce the substantial conclusion of negotiations for the upgrade of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA).

ASEAN ANZFTA is an agreement between ASEAN Member States (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Brunei Darussalam), Australia and New Zealand. Service suppliers and investors will benefit from extensive tariff reductions and increased certainty as a result of this agreement.

It is expected that once the upgrade is implemented, it will strengthen and improve the trade agreement in order to ensure it is suitable for the future for businesses and trade in the region, according to a statement released by Australia's Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator Don Farrell.

It is expected that the agreement will provide a stronger foundation for Australian businesses to expand their economic engagement with Southeast Asia in the future.

In a statement about the agreement, Albanese was quoted as saying: "Strengthening trade agreements with ASEAN and New Zealand will result in better outcomes for Australian businesses and Australian families as a whole.".