8 Apr 2014

Trade deal for Australia, Japan

6:21 pm on 8 April 2014

Australia and Japan have reached agreement on a bilateral trade deal after seven years of negotiations.

The pact will allow better access for Australia's agricultural products - including beef, cheese, horticulture and wine - to Japan, while tariffs on Japanese imported cars will be eliminated.

Australia's beef industry is one of the big winners, with a 38.5 percent Japanese tariff currently applying to frozen beef to be cut to 19.5 percent over 18 years, with deep cuts in the first year.

Cheese is Australia's single largest dairy export to Japan, and the duty-free quota will be boosted from 27,000 tonnes per year to 47,000 tonnes annually.