The new round of tariff reductions under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement kicked in on Friday, giving Australian exporters an extra reason to celebrate this New Year, Xinhua reported. Tariffs on Australian exports to China have now been cut twice in less than a fortnight, following initial reductions when ChAFTA entered into force on Dec. 20, 2015. The tariff reductions on exports to Korea will be the third round of cuts under KAFTA since its entry into force on Dec. 12, 2014. Assistant minister for trade and investment, Richard Colbeck, quoted the case of RBK Nutraceuticals in his press release saying the Sydney-based company have increased their exports to South Korea by a huge 161% since the beginning of the agreement. Tasmanian cherry growers have also enjoyed huge increases in demand due to the commencement of KAFTA with the state exporting 185 tons of cherries into South Korea over last summer compared with just five tons the previous year.
