Almond Byte, April 2022: Australia/India deal, Logistics Update, EU Pauses Sustainable Strategy

Australia and India ink new Trade AgreementIt has been in the works for a long time, but it appearsAustralia and India have finally concluded their Economic Cooperation and TradeAgreement (IndAusECTA) on April 2, 2022. The agreement provides for competitivetariff elimination or reduction on a wide range of goods including Australianalmonds. The aim is to enhance bilateral trade to $54 billion in the next fiveyears which is currently at $27.5 billion. As soon as the Agreement is ratifiedby both parliaments, India has agreed to create a combined annual tariff ratequota up to 34,000 MTs for shelled and inshell Australian almonds. From the information available, it appears importers will berequired to obtain import licenses to utilize the TRQ. The in-quota rate willbe 50% of the current MFN rate which would equate to 17.5 rps/kg for inshelland 50 rps/kg for shelled almonds. Meantime, the U.S. duties, given retaliatorytariffs, remain at 41 rps/kg for inshell, and 120 rps/kg for kernels. This isonly the second agreement that India has signed in the last 10 years. The lastagreement India signed was with Japan in 2011 followed by the UAE and nowAustralia in 2022. The deal with India removes tariffs on more than 85% ofAustralian goods exported to India, worth US$9.4 billion, rising to almost 91%over 10 years. Tariffs will be eliminated on sheep meat, wool, copper, coal,alumina, fresh Australian rock lobster, and some critical minerals andnon-ferrous metals to India. It will see 96 percent of Indian goods importsenter Australia duty-free. Australia is currently negotiating nine FTAsincluding bilateral agreements with three of its largest trading partners,China, Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, the United States is waiting to engagein talks related to the proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Transportation-Logistics Update The Senate unanimously approved the Ocean Shipping ReformAct in a vote last week. The bill’s support comes at a time of peakcongressional concern over the resiliency of American supply chains, which hasbecome an even more critical issue in light of the Ukraine/Russia conflict. Thebill, which aims to ease maritime supply chain issues, “is designed to supportthe growth and development of U.S. exports and promote reciprocal trade in thecommon carriage of goods by water in the foreign commerce of the UnitedStates.” The bill now goes into a process to work out the differencesbetween the House and Senate versions. Once the differences are worked out, thebill will need to pass both chambers a second time. Have logistics updates youwant to share? Please contact: [email protected] EU hits “Pause” on its Sustainable Food Strategy The war in Ukrane has “pressed the pause button” on theEU’s flagship food policy, the Farm to Fork strategy, but the long-termambition for the sector remains unchanged, according to the EU Health CommissionerStella Kyriakides. Between skyrocketing food prices and shortages of key inputssuch as fuel and fertilizer, the war has sent the EU agri-food sector reeling.“We’re working hard to address global food security and for food affordabilityin the EU, including finding alternative feed sources for the short term,” saidEU Health Commissioner Kyriakide. EU Commission and European industry have beenmeeting frequently to identify those temporary measures and policy implicationsbrought about by the war and disruption to food supply systems. Severalshort-to-medium term measures are being...

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.