Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee [Part 2], , 2:49:17 to 2:57:31
Analysis of the EU Free Trade Agreement's benefits for Victoria's agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and professional services sectors.
Topics: EU free trade agreement, Exports, Education
Speakers: Cathy Raper, Senator Raff Ciccone, George Mina, Unknown Speaker
>> on with the department. I just want to just double check before the deputy chair. We might just uh someone's able to find the deputy chair for me before we do her the courtesy before we go on. Um while we're doing that I might just ask one or two questions if I may with respect to the EU deal and Victoria given I'm a very proud Victorian. um how will the agreement support the um European then investment in Victoria's priority sectors such as life sciences uh renewable energy and defense
and >> thank you very much uh Senator for the question um many of the um benefits we've talked about earlier of course will also benefit Victoria but to drill down a little bit on key Victorian um exports um we will see under this FTA PA um the elimination of tariffs on key Victorian exports such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals of 12.8% 8% of 14% on machinery and electrical parts, 12% of textiles and 4.5% on auto parts. Um on agriculture um the outcomes that we've referred to earlier on beef, on sheet meat, on wine, you know, wheat and barley um will also uh benefit u um Victoria. Um we haven't uh um talked uh too much about uh tree nuts but and almond uh um elimination tariff elimination up to 5.6% um and um seafood um Victorian muscles will benefit from the elimination of a 10% tariff in abalone of 11%. Um and of course um we have won market access for Australian cheese into the European market which is often overlooked in the discussion on on dairy and the FDA. Um, so we will see the elimination of EU tariffs on cheese, which are extraordinarily high, I think, as uh Deputy Secretary Mina referred to earlier, of $3,872 a ton eliminated within 3 years. >> Um, which is an amazing uh opportunity for Australian uh cheese um uh exporters. Um we also have benefits of course for the Victorian um uh services uh um exporters um and particularly um priority areas there. um some I referred to before such as education uh and tourism um but also digital services, financial services and environmental services um will benefit Victorian services um exporters. Um those are a few of the highlights um um Senator that uh that I think will be particularly interesting to the to the state of
>> Thank you. Um uh in terms of then I mean Victoria is also Australia's second largest um service exporter. How will the agreement including um uh the new innovation mobility pathway help Victoria's universities, researchers and service providers uh grow in the EU market?
Well, the innovation mobility pathway um is a new um uh initiative, a new mobility initiative under the agreement that will make it easier for um researchers uh and technicians um to be able to um to travel to and and work within uh um the the European um union. it um is particularly um uh directed at um people with experience in areas such as advanced manufacturing, AI, uh computing and communications, biotechnology, gene technology and vaccines, energy environment, quantum sensing, robotics and space. So I think there's quite a few industries there that are important uh in the Victorian market. Um and what it will mean is that they will be able to um travel to um uh and work in the EU um in order to undertake their their research. So our researchers will be able to uh um to stay in the uh um the EU um for up to nine months while they get that started um and be able to travel across European Union states. Um, also importantly, they will be able to have their qualifications recognized throughout the EU. As I mentioned earlier, recognition of qualifications in one EU member state will mean that they won't need to be re-qualified in another um European Union member state.
>> So when you say that in terms of degrees are recognized or professional
qualification, >> professional qualification such as being an engineer for example.
>> So an engineer
>> such as being an engineer as for example, a professional qualification.
>> Okay. I'm assuming you've got a broader list that you might be able to supply the committee with those qualifications.
>> Um there's no set list. It's essentially any qualification where you need to get uh a certification that you have met the standard. Once you do it in one member state, it'll be um no need for re-qualification in the others.
>> Excellent. Um I I'll finish on this one then. Um Victoria as we know has a very strong and proud pharmaceutical um and advanced manufacturing base. Um and in light of what the events that are occurring at the moment around the world um want to ask what are then the opportunities that this um uh presents itself particularly the removal of tariffs of up to 12.8% on pharmaceuticals and 14% on machinery to create um yeah machinery for Victorian manufacturers. Um, is there anything from the that you're able to add in terms of what will help our pharmaceutical industry?
>> Um, I think essentially it levels the playing field with our competitors who already have free trade agreements into the European Union who are not currently paying those tariffs on their exports. It means that Australian and Victorian pharmaceuticals and machinery um will gain more market access share into the European Union.
Is that machinery uh not just um for manufacturing but also in agriculture or
>> um yes it will extend to agricultural machinery as well.
>> All right.
>> And if I can senator this is one of the uh the the the best examples of how the Horizon Europe agreement and the free trade agreement work together. We all know the biomedical capabilities of Victoria. Uh and uh we also know about the extraordinary research links that uh European uh uh research community has with Melbourne and and the bio chemical and biomedical uh vicinity of Melbourne. Uh this is an area not just the tariff liberalization to which Mr. has rep referred but also the Horizon urine linkages that we'll be able to uh uh reinforce here will will give the the uh the economic dividend to uh Victoria's medical industry and pharmaceutical
>> Mr. Mayor, can I thank you and your team for tonight? Um I believe there are no other questions for the trade uh portfolio within the department. Um so thank you to you and all your officers um for your appearance this evening. You're free to go home.
>> Thank you very much. Thank you very much Senator. Thank you committee.
>> All right. We'll uh just briefly suspend while the department leaves and get ready with the export finance Australia. Excellent.