China and Australia conclude landmark Free Trade Agreement negotiations

China and Australia completed their negotiations for a China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (“ChAFTA”) by signing a Declaration of Intent which contained the essential elements of the free trade deal and commits both countries to draft the legal text of the agreement for signature at a later date. This agreement ends almost a decade of free trade negotiations between China and Australia.

The ChAFTA is significant because it will initially lower and ultimately eliminate tariffs on a wide range of exports between the two countries boosting bilateral trade between the world’s second largest economy and a significant U.

S. free trade partner in Asia.