Australia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in Australia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals.
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Trade Agreements
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The Australia- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA)

The AUSFTA, has been in effect since 20005 and provides major benefits for both countries including the phased opening of markets. More information is held by the Office of the United States Trade Representative. The FTA Help Center includes information on how to take advantage of an FTA.

Other Agreements

The Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA, or CER) is the main instrument that governs economic relations between Australia and New Zealand. It is a comprehensive agreement, prescribing that all bilateral trade and services originating in the two countries is free of tariffs, quantitative restrictions, anti-dumping measures, production subsidies, and like measures.  

Australia has free trade agreements in force, listed with the entry-into-force dates.:

  • Australia-New Zealand (ANZCERTA or CER) – 1 January 1983
  • Singapore-Australia (SAFTA) – 28 July 2003
  • Australia-United States (AUSFTA) – 1 January 2005
  • Thailand-Australia (TAFTA) – 1 January 2005
  • Australia-Chile (ACl-FTA) – 6 March 2009
  • ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand (AANZFTA) – 1 January 2010 for eight countries: Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Burma, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. For Thailand: 12 March 2010. For Laos: 1 January 2011. For Cambodia: 4 January 2011. For Indonesia: 10 January 2012
  • Malaysia-Australia (MAFTA) – 1 January 2013
  • Korea-Australia (KAFTA) – 12 December 2014
  • Japan-Australia (JAEPA) – 15 January 2015
  • China-Australia (ChAFTA) – 20 December 2015
  • Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – 30 December 2018
  • Australia-Hong Kong (A-HKFTA) and associated Investment Agreement (IA) – 17 January 2020
  • Peru-Australia (PAFTA) — 11 February 2020
  • Indonesia- Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) – 5 July 2020
  • Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus – 13 December 2020
    New Zealand, Australia, Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Niue, Vanuatu and Cook Islands are Parties to the Agreement. Nauru has signed the agreement but has not ratified.
  • Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) – 1 January 2022 for ten countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. For Republic of Korea: 1 February 2022. For Malaysia: 18 March 2022. For Indonesia: 2 January 2023. RCEP will enter into force for the Philippines on 2 June 2023.
  • Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) – 29 December 2022
  • Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA) – 31 May 2023
  • Australia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) – 1 October 2025

Australia is a key member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and plays a leading role in promoting trade liberalization among the member economies. Australia exports approximately 76% of its goods and services to APEC economies. Australia is also a leading member of the Cairns Group of 19 agricultural exporting countries.

The most recent major free trade agreement concluded by Australia is the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement (A-EUFTA), with negotiations finalized on March 24, 2026. The agreement aims to eliminate over 99% of tariffs on EU exports to Australia and open new markets for Australian agricultural products, critical minerals, and services.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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