Summary
Introduced with the Customs Amendment (Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2004 to give effect to Australia’s obligations under the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), the bill amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to: provide duty-free access to certain goods and preferential rates of customs duty for other goods that are of Thai origin; phase the preferential rates of customs duty for certain goods to zero by 2015; and provide the mechanism to initiate safeguard measures on sensitive products including canned tuna, processed pineapple and pineapple juice, if necessary. Also makes contingent amendments to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 and US Free Trade Agreement Implementation (Customs Tariff) Act 2004 in the event the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement is not in force for Australia before TAFTA enters into force for Australia.