The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (also known as KAFTA) is a bilateral agreement to reduce trade and investment barriers between Australia and South Korea. The agreement was reached and came into force in 2014. Australia and South Korea have a strong and complementary trade relationship. Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb and Korean Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick concluded negotiations on the agreement in early December 2013 and the text of the agreement, which was legally reviewed, was signed by chief negotiators on February 10, 2014. [1] In April 2014, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott led a trade delegation to Japan, South Korea and China. The three economies accounted for more than half of Australia`s two-way trade. [2] During the South Korean leg of the mission, Abbott signed the Australia-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) with the government of Park Geun-hye on April 8 in Seoul. [3] The agreement came into force on December 12, 2014. [4] Kafta is a global, world-class agreement that significantly liberalizes Australia`s trade with Korea, our fourth largest trading partner. The agreement helps create a level playing field for Australian exporters that compete with those of the United States, the EU, Chile and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that benefit from existing trade agreements with Korea. The full text of the agreement as well as useful information on FTAs and fact sheets are available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) For any specific questions regarding the agreement, the E-Mail-KoreaFTA@dfat.gov.au or the DFAT phone on 02 6261 1111. The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement creates significant opportunities for Queensland businesses, from farmers to service providers and manufacturers.

Australian financial service providers may work in Korea on a „cross-border“ basis and are not required to maintain a full commercial presence for investment advisory and investment fund portfolio management. Korean regulators must now allow Australian institutions to transfer data inside and outside Korean territory, and licensing restrictions have also been reduced. Commodities (energy and mineral products) and simply processed industries (mainly crude metals such as aluminum and copper) accounted for nearly three-quarters of the value of Australia`s exports to Korea in 2014/2015. This publication was drafted prior to the current government The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) came into force on December 12, 2014. The Republic of Korea is the world`s twelfth largest economy and asia`s fourth largest. It is Queensland`s third largest trading partner with exports worth $4.7 billion, or about 10% of Queensland`s total merchandise exports. For more information, please see: Australian accountants with CPA or CA qualifications may provide accounting consulting services in offices in Korea in Australia or internationally and invest in Korean tax or accounting transactions until December 2019.