In 1999, the Commonwealth Government referred the scope for a post-2000 reduction in the general tariff to the Productivity Commission for inquiry and report within nine months. The general tariff covers only rates of 5 per cent or less, and excludes the PMV and TCF sectors. On balance, the...

Rules of origin arrangements under the Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (CER) were referred to the Commission for examination and report by May 2004. The request stemmed from concerns that Australian and New Zealand firms were having difficulty achieving the...

In its latest annual report, of which this is an extract, the Productivity Commission responds to current misconceptions about globalisation and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Commission notes that, among other trends, there has been a five-fold increase in average per capita income...

This paper was one input to the Australian Government’s decision to remove tariffs on imports from the least developed countries. The Commission’s analysis suggests that removing tariffs on imports from these countries could significantly boost imports from these countries, particularly of...