The Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA)

JAEPA eliminates or reduces barriers to trade in goods between Japan and Australia. This benefits Australian businesses that seek to export Australian goods to Japan or want to import Japanese goods for sale in Australia or for use as inputs into further manufacturing.

Some of the key outcomes on entry into force of the agreement include:

  • Rapid tariff reductions for beef, Australia’s largest agricultural export to Japan worth $2.3 billion in 2018-19, providing an immediate and significant competitive advantage over our major competitor, the United States.
  • Elimination of the 15% on bottled wine over seven years, with the tariff on bulk wine eliminated immediately. 
  • Duty-free quotas for Australian cheese, with trade worth $488 million in 2018-19.
  • Immediate and preferential duty-free access for the growing trade in milk protein concentrates, lactose and casein as well as new opportunities for ice-cream and frozen yoghurt exports.
  • Fast tariff elimination on the vast majority of Australia’s fruit, vegetables, nuts and juice, worth $191.6 million in 2018-19. 
  • Elimination of tariffs on lobsters, crustaceans and shellfish and the tariff on Australia’s largest seafood export, tuna, and Atlantic salmon, will be phased out over 10 years. Australia’s fish exports to Japan were worth $141 million in 2018-19.
  • Immediate duty-free and quota free access for wheat for feed and barley for feed as well as streamlined export arrangements for some Australian wheat varieties. Australia’s wheat trade to Japan was worth over $384 million in 2018-19.
  • Immediate tariff elimination and reduced levies for high polarity (international standard) raw sugar, with Australian exports of sugar, molasses and honey to Japan worth over $391 million in 2018-19.
  • Elimination of tariffs on 99.7% of Australian resources, energy and manufacturing exports.

Source: DFAT