Australian Forest Products Association Raises Concerns Over Australia–EU Free Trade Agreement

The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has expressed concern following the signing of the Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement by the Australian government on March 24.

Under the agreement, Australia will eliminate tariffs on European timber imports, a move AFPA said could challenge domestic sawn timber and engineered wood product manufacturers.

AFPA Chief Executive Officer Diana Hallam said, “We echo the concerns raised by many other agriculture peak bodies today about the lack of opportunities arising from the deal for Australia’s forest industries.”

“Australia’s domestic timber production is already under extreme pressure, including from surging timber imports, a stagnant housing market, and rising domestic costs such as energy, insurance, labor, transport, and fuel—and this trade deal will further undermine the competitiveness of Australian timber,” Hallam added. “We are disappointed that adding further price advantage to imports into our timber market, while government is adding costs to domestic production, will be highly detrimental to local timber manufacturing, which is one of the few primary industries that doesn’t receive Federal Government support for Country of Origin labelling.”

AFPA noted that the agreement does not include a commitment to adopt the EU Deforestation Regulation. Hallam said, “Fortunately, in a win for the sector, the A-EU FTA does not include deforestation regulation, and we will continue to engage with the EU on these problematic and trade-distorting measures in other international forums alongside the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.”