Independent Review - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
On 2 April 2019, the Government tabled the text of the Australia-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Parliament. This has now been referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.
The bilateral FTA is expected to:
- guarantee free flow of data across borders without mandatory local data storage requirements;
- secure a legal guarantee that Australian exporters will continue to receive Hong Kong’s zero-tariff treatment for their goods;
- remove any risk for Australian service suppliers and investors that could arise from adverse future changes to Hong Kong’s applied policy settings;
- promote increased investment through a linked, modern Investment Agreement;
- deliver faster and deeper market access gains than are possible through multilateral or regional trade negotiations;
- be consistent with World Trade Organization requirements for FTAs; and
- complement Australia’s efforts to seek additional trade liberalisation across the region.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade certified the Analysis of Regulatory Impact on Australia as meeting the requirements of a regulation impact statement. The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) does not assess independent reviews.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade estimated the average annual regulatory cost at $0.200 million. The OBPR agreed that, as the costs were less than $2 million per annum, regulatory costs could be self-assessed by the Department.