5 April 2013

Summary

The Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA) provides for extensive tariff liberalization commitments by Malaysia and Australia from the Agreement's entry-into-force on 1 January 2013. The negotiated outcome of MAFTA provides tariff-free treatment on 94.8 per cent of Malaysia's tariff lines in 2013, rising to 98.6 per cent in 2016, and 98.8 per cent in 2020. Tariff-free treatment in 2013 applies to 97.6 per cent of Malaysia's 2009-2011 average imports from Australia, rising to 99 per cent by 2017. Australia's tariff commitments provide tariff-free treatment for all goods from 2013. These tariff commitments only apply to those goods exported from or imported by Malaysia or Australia that meet the Agreement's Rules of Origin (ROO).

This brochure is intended to provide a simple guide to business on how to make use of MAFTA to export or import goods. It:

• Explains where to find details of the tariff commitments for individual products;
• Describes the ROO provisions of the Agreement;
• Explains where to find the ROO for individual products;
• Outlines the Agreement's provisions on the use of documentation in order to make use of tariff preferences when a good is imported into either Party (i.e. Declarations of Origin for exports from Australia and Certificates of Origin for exports from Malaysia); and
• Notes the Agreement's provisions on verification, including its requirements on retention of records demonstrating that a good meets MAFTA's ROO.