This week marks the third anniversary of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA), which entered into force on 12 December 2014.

 

A fifth round of KAFTA tariff cuts will occur on 01 January 2018, delivering a further boost for Australian exporters and their suppliers.

 

Several Australian exporters  experienced significant growth as tariffs were reduced: From January to September 2017, key agriculture exports such as sheep meat and cheese have seen growth of 95.2 per cent to A$83.8 million, and 49.6 per cent to A$20.2 million respectively, when compared to the same period last year.

 

KAFTA also brought significant benefits to Australia's manufactured exports. Sales of beauty and skincare products have risen more than 116 per cent over January-September 2017 (compared to the same period last year), on the back of tariff reductions.

 

For example, bottled wine exports for the first nine months of this year have grown 52 per cent when compared to the same nine months in 2014 (before KAFTA).

 

In 2016, the total stock of Korean investment in Australia increased to A$23.6 billion.