An Exporters Guide To

Managing Compliance
and Free Trade
Agreements

Compliance
experts
Introduction

At their most basic level, Free Trade Agreements (FTA) relax trade tariffs between two countries to encourage
greater trade and make Australian exports more competitive in international markets. They also address the red tape
and government barriers that typically hinder international imports and exports, including; intellectual property,
professional qualifications, ecommerce and government procurement.

While FTAs are generally supported as a great way to boost international cooperation and investment while
encouraging Australian businesses to expand into international markets, they come with their own set of unique
challenges. One of these challenges will be compliance meeting global industry standards, ensuring product quality
and managing workplace safety.

To ensure your business is equipped to handle the business and growth opportunities of expanding into other
countries, you need to have efficient processes in place. And with so many people along the supply chain, all in
different locations around the globe, you need a secure, scalable compliance solution you can trust.

The purpose of this guide is to provide advice to help you find the right solution for you, to manage your compliance needs.

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New Business Opportunities

As of December 2015, Australia has nine active FTAs with countries and regions around the world. FTAs are a
powerful business opportunity, promoting freer trade between participating countries, and giving Australian
businesses better access to international markets at more competitive rates. FTAs play a major role in boosting
Australias GDP and create new trading opportunities with partnering countries.

Australias latest FTA is with China, which was signed on 17 June 2015, and came into force on 20 December 2015.

The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement: what does it mean?

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, China is Australias largest trading partner. It buys almost
a third of all Australian exports, valued at nearly $98 billion in 2014, and is our top overseas market for agriculture,
resources and services exports. Chinese investment in Australia has been growing strongly in recent years, reaching
almost $65 billion in 2014.

The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) is a key development in Australias economic relationship with
China. In simple terms, it relaxes trade tariffs to encourage even greater importing and exporting between the two
countries.

Key Outcomes
More than 85 per cent of goods exported to China will be duty free upon entry into China; this figure will reach
93 per cent in four years time and 95 per cent at full implementation.

Resources and energy is another key component of ChAFTA 92.9% of these products will be duty free on entry,
and most remaining tariffs are to be removed within four years.

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Free Trade Agreements
When it comes to Free Trade Agreements, theres two key considerations: understanding your legal obligations, and
demonstrating that you are a trustworthy company in the jurisdiction in which you are entering.

1. Understanding Your Legal Obligations

Australia has nine active FTAs and each jurisdiction will have different laws and regulations. Its important
that you understand the legal requirements of the jurisdiction in which you intend to operate. For example,
Chinas laws will differ to the United States, which will differ again from New Zealand. A firm grasp of the
specific laws that govern each FTA is essential in operating a legal and compliant overseas operation.

As a member and strong supporter of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Australia upholds legal trade
disciplines to ensure quality and alignment with the international trading system. The WTO standards are
the minimum criteria Australia uses in establishing an FTA. Under WTO rules FTAs must:

Eliminate tariffs and other restrictions on substantially all the trade in goods between its member
countries, and

Eliminate substantially all discrimination against service suppliers from member countries (helping
to increase trade in services).

Given the legal complexities exporters face, its important to look in detail at the legislative requirements
that apply to your business and the region where you are operating. Use this as a framework to review your
business activities and operations and then compile a compliance operations register outlining any controls
that need to be implemented and how frequently they need to be assessed for conformance.

For example: The Applicable Legislation of ChaFTA

When exporting to China under ChAFTA, Australian companies will be subject to a range of new legislation,
including:

Customs Amendment (China Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2015

Customs Tariff Amendment (China Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2015

Customs (International Obligations) Amendment (China Australia Free Trade Agreement)

Regulation 2015

Customs (Chinese Rules of Origin) Regulation 2015

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 2. Demonstrate you can be trusted in the jurisdiction you are entering

To ensure success in an overseas market you need to demonstrate that your brand and your products
can be trusted. This means establishing a robust quality control system.

When expanding overseas, chances are your prospective customers already have local options that they
can source. Your brand presence needs to be strong, and those prospective customers need to be able to
trust your company can deliver consistent, quality products and services.

To achieve this its essential for suppliers to go above and beyond their legal requirements and adopt a
quality management regime that can be achieved through strong process control, risk management and an
inspection process.

An automated compliance management system will help you demonstrate both compliance and quality
while significantly reducing the cost of traditional compliance methodologies (i.e. Manual or Paper Based
Approach).

Finding The Right Solution To Help You Manage Compliance

When looking for the right technology to help you manage your entire compliance requirements we have the
following advice to help you find the right one.

Look for a scalable solution. Look for scalable compliance software solution that will give you the
functionality to meet your entire compliance needs across your supply chain and will continue to meet your
needs as your business grows.

Make sure its reliable. With many solutions out there, one stand out feature should be its reputation with
results and reliability. Look for a company that has a proven track record they should have case studies
and customer testimonials readily available.

Choose a flexible solution. As you expand into international markets you need a flexible solution that can
be installed in a way that meets your needs today and in the future. Options should include: on-site hosted
on your internal servers, or alternatively cloud hosted software.

Find an integrated solution. An efficient compliance management solution should integrate with software
and mobile devices like tablets. Integrated software with a mobile app will ensure that everyone who is
conducting audits along your supply chain are all using the same compliance process. This optimises
reporting and provides real time data into your compliance no matter where you, or anyone else, may be
located.

Ensure its secure. FTAs open exciting new possibilities for Australian businesses, but to maximise the
benefits you need a compliance framework you can rely on. Take the time to understand their security
policy, and understand how and where your data is hosted.

Only work with professionals. As this FTAs open up new opportunities, there will be many new players to
the market, trying to capitalise on the growth and demand of companies expanding into new markets. Take
the time to investigate the company and ensure they are professionals and have a reputation that is trusted
in the compliance industry.

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Helpful Resources
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Australian Trade Commission

About Compliance Experts

The Compliance Experts team helps you navigate the daunting world of compliance, delivering a range of solutions
that help you protect your most important assets: your brand, your business, your staff and your reputation.

Our Corporate Mission is to help organisations identify non value adding compliance acitivites and cut the cost of
compliance through an innovative approach and adoption of Cloud/Tablet technology.

Compliance Experts offers a wealth of real-world experience, earned over more than 25 years in the industry. The
professional team of consultants and auditors are industry experts. Using advanced technology software solutions,
they are able to deliver the timely insightful expertise and solutions your business needs.

For more than a decade we have been the industry frontrunner, developing new technologies and software to deliver
real solutions. Our work has been recognised worldwide for pushing into new technological frontiers, creating an
end-to-end product that delivers real results for your business.

Compliance Experts are a recognised Microsoft Silver Partner

The trophy cabinet:

Microsoft ISV Solution of the year

Microsoft Asia Pacific Partner Award
Microsoft Partner Program Award
Consensus Software Award

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About Compliance Checkpoint
Compliance Checkpoint is a trusted software solution to managing your compliance needs.

Flexible, scalable and responsive, Compliance Checkpoint is a software platform that uses integrated cloud
technology and tablet functionality to fully automate your complex and time consuming audit, risk and compliance
tasks.

Adopting this solution is the next step in compliance maturity for your organisation, offering real business benefits
and promising to better manage your compliance requirements right across your organisation and the entire supply
chain.

A scalable, secure, responsive solution

Compliance Checkpoint is fully scalable, so it can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your organisation.
Dont pay for features you dont use. This is a business tool that can be fully customised to suit the needs of your
organisation using robust, proven technology.

The interactive dashboard gathers information in real time, allowing you to respond to emerging risk and safety
issues. Reduce your costs and set up a powerful compliance framework that can be adapted and scaled as you go.

The software is also fully secure, and can be deployed via SAAS or installed On-Premise on your own IT infrastructure
inside your firewall.

START A FREE TRIAL

Compliance
experts

Connect with us:

190 Jells Road P: +61 3 9545 1452 Twitter @ComplianceXprts

Wheelers Hill VIC E: enquiries@complianceexperts.com Facebook /ComplianceCheckpoint
Australia, 3150 www.complianceexperts.com LinkedIn /company/complianceexperts