Bills Digest No. 1 2004-05
Customs Tariff
Amendment (Textile, Clothing and Footwear Post-2005 Arrangements)
Bill 2004
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Glossary
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Glossary
of abbreviations
|
APS
|
Australian Public Service
|
|
DCS
|
Developing countries
|
|
DCT
|
Specified countries
|
|
TCF
|
Textile, Clothing and Footwear
|
|
WTO
|
World Trade Organisation
|
|
SIP
|
Strategic Investment Program
|
|
APEC
|
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
|
|
TFIA
|
Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia
|
|
Customs Tariff Bill
|
Customs Tariff Amendment (Textile, Clothing and Footwear
Post-2005 Arrangements) Bill 2004
|
|
Act
|
Customs Tariff Act 1995
|
|
TCF Post-2005 Bill
|
Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Program
Amendment (Post-2005 Scheme) Bill 2004
|
|
TCF(SIP) Act
|
Textile Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Program
Act 1999
|
|
R&D
|
Research and experimental development
|
|
Post-2005 scheme
|
TCF Post-2005 Strategic Investment Program (SIP) scheme
|
|
Scheme
|
TCF Strategic Investment Program (SIP) Scheme
|
Passage History
Customs Tariff Amendment (Textile,
Clothing and Footwear Post-2005 Arrangements) Bill
2004
Date
Introduced: 16 June 2004
House: House of
Representatives
Portfolio: Justice
and Customs
Commencement: On
Royal Assent
The Customs Tariff Amendment
(Textile, Clothing and Footwear Post-2005 Arrangements) Bill 2004 (
the Customs Tariff Bill ) amends the Customs Tariff Act
1995 ( the Act ) to reduce the general rate of customs duty on
textile, clothing and footwear ( TCF ) items from 1 January 2010
and 1 January 2015.
The scheduled reductions will mean that the general rate of
customs duty applicable to all TCF goods (with the exception of
clothing and finished textiles) will be 5 per cent from 1 January
2010. The general rate of customs duty on these other items will be
reduced to 5 per cent from 1 January 2015.
The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Program
Amendment (Post-2005 Scheme) Bill 2004 ( the TCF Post-2005 Bill )
is introduced cognate with the Customs Tariff Bill, proposing
amendments to the Textile Clothing and Footwear Strategic
Investment Program Act 1999.
The TCF Post-2005 Bill extends and simplifies the current
industry support program available to TCF manufacturers, the TCF
Strategic Investment Program (SIP) Scheme ( the scheme ) which will
end on 30 June 2005. The TCF Post-2005 Bill extends the Scheme for
a further 5 years (or ten years for TCF entities undertaking
clothing and finished textile activities) and establishes the TCF
Small Business Fund.
The Customs Tariff Bill 2004 and the TCF Post-2005 Bill
implement the Government's response to the 2003 Review of TCF
Assistance by the Productivity Commission as announced by the
Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources on 27 November 2003
(see
Ministerial Press Release).
Following amendments made in 1999 to the Act, TCF items
currently at 25 per cent customs duty will be reduced to 17.5 per
cent from 1 January 2005, those at 15 per cent will be reduced to
10 per cent and those at 10 per cent will be reduced to 7.5 per
cent. Those TCF items currently at 5 per cent will not change:
Australian
tariff rates: TCF items
(all rates expressed as
per cent of value)
| |
Clothing, finished textiles, household textiles
|
Cotton sheeting, woven fabrics
|
Sleeping bags, table linen
|
Carpets
|
Footwear
|
Footwear parts
|
Other*
|
|
2000-04
|
25%
|
15%
|
10%
|
15%
|
15%
|
10%
|
5%
|
|
2005
|
17.5%
|
10%
|
7.5%
|
10%
|
10%
|
7.5%
|
5%
|
* Textile yarns.
As part of the phase-down in tariffs the Government provided
certain incentives to TCF producers to undertake restructuring and
achieve efficiency gains in the period up to 2005. The objective
was to provide special assistance, for a limited period, to those
sectors of the industry that had a strong prospect of becoming
internationally competitive. The scheme is the main component of
the TCF assistance package.
Following a review of TCF tariffs by the Productivity Commission
in July 2003, the Government announced a five-year pause on tariff
reductions after the scheduled 2005 tariff reductions followed by a
further tariff phase-down. The Government agreed with the
Commission s preferred option to reduce tariffs in two steps with
all TCF items except clothing and finished textiles coming down to
5 per cent on 1 January 2010. Tariffs on these items would fall to
10 per cent and on 1 January 2015 would step down again to 5 per
cent.
The Government also announced a $747 million package of support
measures to encourage industry restructuring (which included an
extension of the scheme), additional support for the clothing and
finished textiles sector to 2015 and a $25 million grants-based
program to support TCF small businesses.
The scheduled tariff reductions will mean that most of the TCF
tariff lines (77 per cent) will be at 5 per cent or lower from 1
January 2010, with the remainder falling to 5 per cent in 2015, and
are in line with Australia s APEC commitment under the 1994 Bogor
Agreement to free and open trade by 2010:
Australian
tariff rates: TCF items
(all rates expressed as
per cent of value)
| |
Clothing, finished textiles, household textiles
|
Cotton sheeting, woven fabrics
|
Sleeping bags, table linen
|
Carpets
|
Footwear
|
Footwear parts
|
Other*
|
|
2005-09
|
17.5
|
10
|
7.5
|
10
|
10
|
7.5
|
5
|
|
2010
|
10
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
|
2015
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
* Textile yarns.
There are five types of grants available under the current
scheme. The three largest of these provide grants for new
plant/building expenditure (Type 1), for R&D expenditure (Type
2) and for value adding in TCF activities (Type 3). The smaller
grants (Types 4 and 5) are designed to provide assistance to
communities facing restructuring and employment problems.
Funding for the current scheme is capped at $700 million over
five years. In 2002-03, $130 million was paid through the scheme.
Around 60 per cent of SIP payments were for Types 1 and 2 grants.
Type 3 grants accounted for 38 per cent of payments while Types 4
and 5 grants accounted for less than one per cent.
One of the criticisms of the current scheme, however, is that
smaller TCF firms are unable to access the Scheme because of the
Scheme s eligibility criteria, in particular the $200,000 annual
investment threshold of eligible expenditure.(1) In
2002-03, there were 365 SIP registrants, the majority (75 per cent)
were medium sized and large TCF firms employing more than 20
people.
The TCF Post-2005 Bill amends the scheme and provides for only 2
types of grants. The new Scheme, renamed the TCF Post-2005 (SIP)
Scheme ( Post-2005 scheme ), will be capped at $575 million, of
which $487.5 million will be the amount capped for the 2005-06 to
2009-10 income years and $87.5 million for the 2010-15 income
years.
Type 1 and 2 grants will provide for a 40 per cent capital
investment subsidy and an 80 per cent innovation subsidy
respectively. As under the current scheme, grants can only be paid
in arrears on the basis of demonstrated performance in the areas
specified.
In line with WTO rules, the overall level of assistance to an
individual TCF firm from both the Post-2005 scheme and the Import
Credit Scheme (Product Diversification Scheme) in any one year is
limited to 5 per cent of its total sales revenue in the preceding
twelve months.(2)
Customs revenue from TCF tariffs in 2001-02 was around $950
million.(3) This was about 26 per cent of the total
tariff revenue for that year or 0.6 per cent of total Commonwealth
revenue.
As noted in the
Explanatory Memorandum to the Customs Tariff Bill, the tariff
reductions, which commence on 1 January 2010, are estimated to
result in revenue foregone of $6.3 billion over eight years:
Tariff protection for the Australian TCF industry has declined
significantly since the 1990s, beginning with the 1987 TCF industry
plan. For example, in the footwear sector tariffs fell from 45 per
cent in 1990 to the current level of 15 per cent and will fall to
10 per cent in January 2005.
While Australia has pushed ahead with its trade liberalisation
strategy and is working towards the overarching APEC goal of free
and open trade by 2010, many of its regional trading partners have
maintained their tariff barriers on TCF products. Much like
Australia, the TCF industry globally has traditionally been highly
protected.
As Table 1 shows, Australia s tariff reductions have not been
matched by its major trading partners and regional competitors:
Table 1: TCF tariffs for
selected products, Apical International 2003
Source: Apical International, Market Access Industry
Participation Program, 2003, commissioned by the TFIA.
The Apical International Report
identified tariffs of 30 per cent or more on TCF products in
developing countries such as India, Vietnam, Pakistan and China. In
developed countries of APEC such as the US, Canada, Japan, TCF
tariffs are mostly around 15 per cent with some higher tariffs on
individual TCF items.(4)
The Productivity Commission s Review of TCF Assistance
also indicates that Australian firms face significant tariff and
non-tariff barriers, such as quota restrictions and restrictive
rules of origin when exporting TCF products. The Commission
noted:
Among developed countries, maximum developed
applied tariffs are higher in the United States than in the
European Union (EU) or Japan (these markets accounted for 50 per
cent of world textile and clothing imports in 2001). Since the
mid-1990s, maximum tariff rates in these three markets have for the
most part either fallen marginally or remained stable (a notable
exception being a sharp rise in certain man-made fibre tariffs in
the United States).
In Australia, in contrast to the EU, the US and
Japan, tariffs on all TCF products have been reduced significantly
over the last decade and a half (albeit from a much higher starting
point).(5)
Until recently, the low value of the Australian dollar has
shielded TCF firms from the competitive pressures that tariff
reductions and global influences would otherwise have had on the
industry. Over the year to March 2004, however, the Australian
dollar has appreciated by 25 per cent against the US dollar and 16
per cent against the trade weighted index. This recent appreciation
of the Australian dollar and any further rise in the dollar s value
affects the industry s competitiveness and viability.
According to a survey by the
Australia Industry Group, for each one cent appreciation of the
Australian dollar against the US dollar, export income for
manufacturing overall is reduced by 0.3 per cent (or an annual loss
of $210 million for every one cent appreciation). For the TCF
industry the loss of export income is even greater. The survey
estimates a loss of 0.4 per cent and 1.4 per cent for textiles, and
clothing and footwear export earnings respectively, for every one
cent appreciation.
For manufactured exports, the survey notes that the US$0.70 mark
is the critical point. Beyond this level, Australian exports become
highly uncompetitive on world markets. An appreciating Australian
dollar will, of course, also reduce the cost of TCF imports. While
the Australian dollar has fallen back below US$0.70, any
appreciation of the currency will be of more concern for TCF
producers than tariff reductions.
The survey also found that
industries that are relatively labour intensive are more likely to
move their production activity offshore due to the appreciating
dollar. This includes many TCF firms. Around 50 per cent of the
firms surveyed indicated that the higher dollar had increased the
likelihood of moving at least some or all production offshore. In
recent years, a number of well-known, high profile TCF firms have
moved their manufacturing operations offshore.(6)
The amendments to the Act as proposed by the Customs Tariff Bill
will have the following effects on customs duties.
| |
Part 1
|
Part 2
|
Part 3
|
|
Items
|
1 to 137
|
138 to 432
|
433 to 671
|
|
Changes applicable to
|
|
|
A range of textile yarns,
fabrics, certain finished textile goods and footwear parts (Part 1
products).
|
A range of footwear, cotton
sheeting and woven and knitted fabrics of various textile materials
(Part 2 products).
|
Most articles of apparel
and certain finished textiles (Part 3 products).
|
|
Current dutiable rate
|
|
|
10%
|
15%
|
25%
|
|
Proposed dutiable rates
|
|
1 January 2005(7)
|
7.5%
|
10%
|
17.5%
|
|
1 January 2010(8)
|
5%
|
5%
|
10%
|
|
1 January 2015(9)
|
remains unchanged
|
remains unchanged
|
5%
|
The Customs Tariff Bill will maintain the current preferential
regime, therefore the gradual reductions of the general rate
applicable to preference countries envisaged by the Customs Tariff
Bill will have the effect that most preference countries will enjoy
tariffs that are Free (i.e. zero) as of 1 January
2010.(10) Under the current legislative arrangements,
the only exception to this will be Canada. However, amendments
envisaged by Schedule 1 Part 1 of the Customs
Tariff Bill (Items 7, 18, 49, 50, 56, 57, 110, 111, 112,
117 and 122) ensure that the dutiable rate for Canadian
goods will be Free after 1 January 2010.
In relation to the special rates applicable to DCT
(11) and DCS (12) countries as set out in
Schedule 1, Part 4 and 5 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995,
the general rate will apply to Part 1 goods manufactured or
produced in those countries from 1 January 2010.
The amendments set out in Schedule 1 Part 2 of
the Customs Tariff Bill will not interfere with the margins of
tariff preference and duty free entry for preference countries,
with the tariff becoming or remaining Free after 1 January 2010.
Item 351 of the Customs Tariff Bill preserves the
preferential treatment for Canada, and ensures that goods produced
or manufactured in Canada will become free of tariffs as of 1
January 2010.
DCT and DCS countries will be subject to the general rate.
The amendments set out in Schedule 1 Part 3 of
the Customs Tariff Bill will not interfere with the margins of
tariff preference and duty free entry for preference countries. The
tariff will gradually be reduced as set out in the table above,
with the tariff preference margin ensuring that when the general
rate sinks to 5% on 1 January 2015, the preference rate will be
Free. Item 541 of the Customs Tariff Bill
preserves the preferential treatment for Canada with the tariff for
goods produced or manufactured in Canada becoming Free as of 1
January 2010, and remaining Free after 1 January 2015.
DCT and DCS countries will be and remain subject to the general
rate.
Item 672 will allow the Government to operate a
'Product Diversification Scheme' under the Customs Tariff
legislation for certain clothing and finished textiles. Based on a
duty credit scheme, this scheme will apply to goods entering
Australia for home consumption.
Schedule 1 Items 1 to
9 of the TCF Post-2005 Bill provide for
consequential changes to the Textile, Clothing and Footwear
Strategic Investment Program Act 1999 ( the TCF(SIP) Act ),
including, for example, amendments to definitions and a simplified
outline.
Schedule 1 Item 10 of the TCF Post-2005 Bill
introduces a new Division 4A into the TCF(SIP)
Act, providing for the payment of conditional grants available
under the scheme.
Central to the conditional grant scheme is proposed
section 18A of the TCF Post-2005 Bill.
Subsection 18A(1) stipulates that the scheme may
provide for the payment of grants subject to certain conditions
which may be imposed as a condition precedent or subsequent.
The following conditions may be imposed:
-
compliance with an information gathering notice pursuant to
section 38 of the TCF(SIP) Act (subsection
18A(2))
-
that no false or misleading statement, information, evidence or
document is made, given or produced in connection with the grant
(paragraphs 18A(3)(a) to (c)), or
-
that entities allow authorised officers reasonable access to the
business premises for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the
conditions imposed upon the grant (subsection
18A(4)).
To enable the authorised officer to effectively
conduct the compliance check envisaged under subsection
18A(4), the condition may further stipulate that the
entity has to allow the authorised officer:
-
to access and inspect the premises and anything located on the
premises (subsection 18A(4)(d))
-
to operate electronic equipment on the premises to monitor
electronically stored information (paragraph
18A(4)(e))
-
to make copies of any document found in hardcopy on the premises
(paragraph 18A(4)(f)), and
-
to receive reasonable facilities and assistance in connection
with the monitoring (paragraph 18A(4)(g)).
Whilst the Department of Industry, Tourism and
Resources ( the Department ) has the authority to monitor
compliance, it is important to note that it has no power to compel
compliance with the conditions. Rather, where an entity has
breached a condition imposed under the grant, the Commonwealth may
recover the conditional grant pursuant to s.43 of the TCF(SIP)
Act.
Subsections 18A(5) to (7)
confers powers on the Secretary of the Department ( the Secretary )
in relation to monitoring the compliance with the conditions
imposed under the scheme. These include the power to:
-
specify the business premises to be accessed (subsection
18A(5))
-
appoint a qualified APS employee as authorised officer within
the meaning of the Division (subsection 18A(6)),
and
-
appoint an employee of and authorised Commonwealth contractor to
be an authorised officer for the purposes of the new
Division 4A (subsection
18A(7)).
Sections 18B to
18E set out the framework for the use and
operation of electronic equipment to monitor electronically stored
information pursuant to paragraph 18A(4)(e).
Proposed section 18B applies to
authorised officers within the meaning of Division
4A, empowering the officer to:
-
put electronically stored documents into hard copy form and
remove those documents from the premises (subsection
18B(2)), or
-
transfer electronically stored documents to another electronic
storage device, such as a disk or tape and remove this storage
device from the premises (subsection 18B(3)).
Section 18C provides similar
powers to an expert who is required to assist the authorised
officer with the retrieval of relevant information from electronic
storage devices by operating special equipment. However, whilst the
expert is authorised to:
-
put electronically stored documents into hard copy form
(subsection 18C(3)), or
-
transfer electronically stored documents to another electronic
storage device, (subsection 18C(4)),
the removal of the documents or other electronic
storage device must be performed by the authorised officer
(subsection 18C(5)).
Pursuant to section 18D of the
TCF Post-2005 Bill, a precondition to the
operation of electronic equipment for the retrieval of
electronically stored information is that the person operating the
equipment holds the reasonable belief that it can be operated
without causing damage.
Where, however, equipment has been damaged as a
result of the operation of the equipment, the
Commonwealth has to pay reasonable compensation to the entity
pursuant to section 18E. Under subsection
18E(1), the compensation is only payable where:
-
damage is caused to the equipment (subparagraph
18E(1)(a)(i))
-
damage is caused to the data recorded on the equipment
(subparagraph 18E(1)(a)(ii)), or
-
programs associated with the use of the equipment, or with the
use of the data, are damaged or corrupted (subparagraph
18E(1)(a)(iii)),
and, where the damage was due to:
-
the exercise of insufficient care in selecting the person who
operated the equipment (subparagraph
18E(1)(a)(i)), or
-
the exercise of insufficient care by the person operating the
equipment (subparagraph 18E(1)(a)(ii)).
The Commonwealth is required to pay compensation
as agreed upon with the owner or user (subsection
18E(2)). Only where the Commonwealth and the owner or user
cannot agree upon a reasonable amount, the Federal court will gain
jurisdiction over the dispute under subsection
18E(3). To determine the amount payable, regard is to be
had to whether the occupier of the premises, or the occupier s
employees and agents, provided any appropriate warning or guidance
on the operation of the equipment (subsection
18E(4)).
As mentioned above, before operating equipment,
it is a prerequisite pursuant to section 18D of
the TCF Post-2005 Bill to hold a reasonable belief that the
operation will be safe for the equipment and damage or corruption
will not occur as a result of the use. It may be, however, that
this preliminary decision will not be caught by the compensation
provision.
Section 18E of the Bill provides
for a compensation scheme that expressly applies to situations
where damage or corruption occurred as a result of insufficient
care taken:
-
in the selection of the person to operate the equipment, or
-
in the operation of the equipment itself.
Arguably a person could take 'sufficient care' in
operating a computer even though they did not have reasonable
grounds for believing that the operation of the equipment could be
carried out without causing damage. In this case, compensation for
any damage may not be payable under the terms of section
18E. Subparagraph 18E(1)(b)(ii) could be
amended to provide for compensation where a person lacks the
reasonable belief required by section 18D.
Schedule 1 Item 12 of the TCF
Post-2005 Bill proposes to introduce a new Part 3A
into the TCF(SIP) Act, implementing the Government s TCF Post-2005
(SIP) scheme ( the Post-2005 scheme ).
Division 1 of the new
Part 3A introduces consequential amendments to the
TCF(SIP) Act, such as definitions and the simplified outline of the
Part.
Subsections 37C(a) to
(c) confer the relevant powers upon the Minister
to formulate the Post-2005 scheme to make grants in relation to the
purposes set out in this section.
Section 37D of the TCF Post-2005
Bill sets out the total dollar ceiling for all grants made under
the Post-2005 scheme. It provides:
|
Overall ceiling of the Post-2005 scheme
(2005-2006 to 2014-2015)
|
$575 million
|
|
Ceiling for financial years
2005-2006 to 2009-2010
|
$487.5 million
|
|
Ceiling for financial years
2010-2011 to 2014-2015
|
$87.5 million
|
Division 3 of new Part
3A of the TCF Post-2005 Bill sets out the proposed general
policy objectives to be achieved under the TCF(SIP) Act.
Section 37E makes it mandatory
that the Post-2005 scheme must be directed at ensuring to achieve
the policy objectives as set out in sections 37F
to 37K. These objectives are:
-
the reduction of types of grants from five types to two types
(section 37F). These are:
-
grants in respect of TCF capital investment expenditure, and
-
grants in respect of TCF research and development
expenditure.
-
the making of grants in respect of TCF capital investment in
compliance with the provisions set out in subsections
37G(2) to (5)
-
the making of grants in respect of TCF research and development
in compliance with the provisions set out in paragraphs
37H(1)(a) to (c) and subsection
37H(2) of the TCF Post-2005 Bill
-
that grants are made in arrears as stipulated in section
37J
-
that grants to entities are capped pursuant to the principles
set out in subsections 37K(1) to
(5).
Division 4 of the new Part 3A
introduced by the TCF Post-2005 Bill empowers the Minister to
introduce a registration regime for entities into the Post-2005
scheme (subsection 37L(1)). Examples for possible
requirements relating to the registration of entities are listed in
subsection 37L(2) and include, for example:
-
a requirement that an entity must apply for registration, or
-
that the entity s application for registration be accompanied by
a statement issued by a specified person as to the entity s future
financial viability.
Subsection 37L(3) provides examples for
possible consequences as a result of non-compliance with the
registration requirements, including:
-
the consequence that the entity is not eligible for a grant,
or
-
the consequence that the entity s eligibility for a grant is
subject to restriction or reduction.
Pursuant to Division 5 of the
new Part 3A, entities will only be eligible for
grants if they have complied with the Post-2005 scheme s provisions
in relation to the content and submission of strategic business
plans (section 37M). Under section
37N, the Post-2005 scheme may also contain similar
stipulations in relation to the compliance with the requirements
relating to the submissions of audited or unaudited accounts and
financial statements (subsections 37N(a) and
(b)).
Division 6 of the new
Part 3A sets out the framework in relation to
grants subject to conditions. The framework mirrors the provisions
set out in the proposed Division 4A and the
details are discussed above.
Division 7 of the new
Part 3A contains several additional features of
the Post-2005 scheme. This includes, for example, that the
Post-2005 scheme:
-
may confer administrative powers on the Secretary of the
Department (section 37W), and
-
must provide for a review mechanism (section
37X), which
-
allows the affected entity to request reconsideration of the
initial decision through the Secretary,
-
requires the Secretary to reconsider the initial decision and
either to confirm, revoke or vary it, and
-
allows for the appeal from the Secretary s confirmation or
variation to the Administrative Appeal Tribunal.
Finally, pursuant to section 37
ZI, the Minister is required to publish the grant totals
under the Post-2005 scheme, including the list of entities that
received grants and the total of the grants.
Item 12 also inserts a new Part
3B into the TCF(SIP) Act which appropriates funding for
the TCF Small Business Program. Pursuant to subsection
37ZJ(3), the Government has appropriated $25 million for
this purpose. The Department is responsible for administering the
program, which includes determining:
The remaining Item 13 to Item
24 contain consequential amendments to the Act.
Australia s domestic market is small compared to the global TCF
market and it is absorbing increasingly higher levels of TCF
imports. The projected tariff reductions in January 2010 and 2015
will bring additional adjustment pressures to bear on the TCF
industry which is already undergoing significant change and
restructuring. These pressures will be felt in Victoria where
almost half of all TCF manufacturing is located. The support
measures totalling $747 million will help provide a framework for
guiding the industry to the next stage of its development.
The TCF industry has demonstrated its preparedness to reduce its
reliance on the domestic market through increasing the current
levels of TCF exports which are currently worth
$1 billion annually. Over the past ten years these exports have
doubled in real terms. However, future growth through exports will
not occur without further trade liberalisation by Australia s
trading partners in the region and elsewhere.(13) At
this stage, given the lack of progress in the Doha Round of trade
negotiations over TCF tariffs, it is unlikely that further tariff
reductions will occur globally.
-
See Australian Business Limited, Submission to the Productivity
Commission Review of TCF Assistance, Submission No.
98, pp 10 11.
-
The Import Credit Scheme (Product Diversification Scheme) will
allow eligible TCF producers to import finished clothing and
textiles at a discounted tariff rate, with the amount being linked
to a firm s additional production.
-
Productivity Commission, Review of TCF Assistance,
Report No. 26, 31 July 2003, p. 66.
-
See Victoria Government Submission to the Productivity
Commission Review of TCF Assistance, Submission No.
78, p. 7.
-
Productivity Commission, Review of TCF Assistance,
Report No. 26, 31 July 2003, p. 252.
-
For example, Quicksilver in Torquay, Yakka in Shepparton and
Fletcher Jones in Warnambool have all closed their operations in
regional Victoria.
-
As per the Customs Tariff Amendment Act (No. 1)
1999.
-
As per the Customs Tariff Amendment (Textile, Clothing and
Footwear Post-2005 Arrangements) Bill 2004.
-
As per the Customs Tariff Amendment (Textile, Clothing and
Footwear Post-2005 Arrangements) Bill 2004.
-
Preference countries pursuant to ss. 3, 16 of the Customs
Tariff Act 1995 are: New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, any Forum
Island Country, Least Developed Countries , Developing Countries ,
Canada and Singapore.
-
DCS countries are so called developing countries including eg
Croatia, China, North and South Korea and Vietnam.
-
DCT countries are so called specified countries and include
Singapore and Hong Kong.
-
See Werner International, TCF&L Market Access
Study, Paper prepared for the TCF&L Forum, May 2003.
Thomas John and Michael Priestly
8 July 2004
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This paper has been prepared for general distribution to
Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament. While great care
is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced, the
paper is written using information publicly available at the time
of production. The views expressed are those of the author and
should not be attributed to the Information and Research Services
(IRS). Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in
this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for
related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional
legal opinion. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an
official parliamentary or Australian government document.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's
contents with Senators and Members and their staff but not with
members of the public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2004
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior
written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Members
of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.
Published by the Parliamentary Library, 2004.
Back to top