CORDEAUX:
Australian exporters, especially carmakers and wine producers, are set to benefit following a breakthrough agreement with Thailand on a free trade accord. On the line we have the Prime Minister of Australia. Sir, how are you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning, Jeremy.
CORDEAUX:
How did you pull this off?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it';s great credit to Mark Vaile and his negotiating team. We';ve been working on it now for 18 months, which is not very long for such an agreement. It';s a really good news story for South Australia because the principle beneficiaries are the motor car industry and the wine industry, so it';s a double win for South Australia. What';s happened is as soon as the agreement comes into force, and that';s likely to be around the middle of next year, the 80% tariff on large motor vehicles such as say the Calais and the Commodore, will disappear altogether and the 80% tariff on the smaller vehicles such as a Camry will be cut in half. Now, that';s the tariff now imposed by Thailand and it';s a big market, it';s got I think around four five hundred thousand vehicles a year and it';s growing at about 30 per cent a year. So the opportunity';s there and the price advantage that that will give the Australian exporter is huge and then there';s about a 15 per cent tariff gain for wine exports. Now, given the importance of both of those industries to South Australia while it';s naturally good for the whole country and it';s looked at in national terms because there are other industries that benefit is particularly beneficial for South Australia.
CORDEAUX:
How much trade do we do with Thailand at the moment, though?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh, several billion dollars and this will have an impact on about $700,000 million of that trade, so that';s quite significant. We find it difficult to put a precise figure on the overall value although I think it';s in the order… some people have quoted figures of $3 billion, but they';re not our figures they';re figures that have been compiled by others. But it';s one of those areas where because for the first time we will be able to win access, it';s very hard to know how markets are going to grow.
CORDEAUX:
The Opposition this morning is raising questions about the free trade agreement between China and other ASEAN countries. Is this of any impact?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, what really matters is not talk in these areas, it';s action. I mean, we have actually set about building relationships with individual countries. This is an unambiguous win for Australia and it';s also, of course, there are benefits in it for Thailand, it';s a two way process. But there';s a lot of talk, particularly from the Opposition, about how we can';t cut trade deals with ASEAN countries. Well, we';ve now cut a trade deal with the second largest ASEAN economy. The Thai economy in output is only a little behind the Indonesian economy and it';s therefore the second largest in the ASEAN region and here we have a wonderful free trade agreement which is going to deliver exports, income and jobs to Australians. It';s action rather than rhetoric and flummery that really matters in these areas.
CORDEAUX:
I understand you';ve been working on it for some time, but the announcement coming today, as it has with the conference. Was that just a good outcome, good timing, or…?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, often these things need the impetus of a meeting between the two prime ministers to bring everything to a head. The negotiating team led by the trade people, and Mark Vaile has been the Minister particularly responsible, they';ve been working on this for a long time. But it was known by both sides that I would meeting the Thai Prime Minister yesterday in order to discuss bilateral issues and the whole thing fortuitously came to a head. We were involved in settling the last minute details, there were some areas outstanding before our meeting started and we finished and fixed those up during the course of our meeting, extended the meeting a bit longer and then were able to make a joint announcement. And it is a reminder of how successful Australia is in expanding economic links with Asian countries. We';ve trebled our exports almost to China over the last six or seven years, we';ve got a free trade deal with Singapore, which is another ASEAN country, we now have a free trade agreement with Thailand. So, we';re making a lot of progress.
CORDEAUX:
Thailand was one of those countries that we helped financially during the Asian economic meltdown, wasn';t it?
PRIME MINISTER:
It was. We gave Thailand significant standby assistance with the IMF package and they';ve never forgotten that. We helped Thailand and Indonesia and we were one of the very few countries that did that. And Thailand needed our help and the Thai economy has bounced back remarkably well from the Asian downturn, better than most, better than any I suspect with the exception of Korea. And that';s not forgotten, the Prime Minister mentioned that yesterday. It just demonstrates that you build relationships over a long period of time. But in the end, it';s what each country has to offer the other in trade terms that really matters. The Thais have an expanding motor vehicle market, their economy is growing, their middle-class is getting wealthier. We are a country, therefore, that can offer them a lot. We can offer them, with the removal of these tariffs, a price advantage. I mean, we will have a significant advantage over the more expensive European cars, such as BMWs, a very significant price advantage. Now this is enormously important and the people who work in and run the motor manufacturing industry in Australia understand this and they know how valuable this break through is.
CORDEAUX:
Well, on behalf of South Australia, thank you very much. Now the only… the next step, the next big hurdle is the American free trade agreement. Do you think you could pull that off before Christmas?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, that';s the objective, the deadline that';s been set by President Bush. I hope so, it';s still going to be quite hard because we need to get the Americans to move on agriculture and it';s always hard to get large countries that have fairly protected agricultural industries, which America does. I mean, America';s agricultural industry';s quite heavily protected, unlike ours. And it';s hard to get them to shift, but we';re working hard and we have the support of manufacturers and service industries in America. I met the American Chamber of Commerce delegation in Bangkok yesterday and they represent the manufacturers and the service industries, they';re very strongly in favour of a free trade agreement. And I';m hopeful, there';s a lot of political good will but we have to keep working hard on that but that long term will be of huge significance.
CORDEAUX:
Will you be raising with APEC, the summit, the things that the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir said, his comments on the Jews, will you be trying to get some condemnation of that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think what';s happened is that individual countries have condemned it and I think in some respects, Dr Mahathir would love nothing more than to have his comments to be the centre of the debate. I mean, I';ve made my views on his remarks about Jewish well known and I';m happy to repeat them at any time. Sometimes when people make those sort of outrageous comments it';s all about attracting attention and I don';t particularly want to give them any more attention than they have received.
CORDEAUX:
Thank you very much for your time and the good news.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
CORDEAUX:
All the best, sir.
PRIME MINISTER:
Bye bye.
[ends]