Officials from Australia and the U.S. signed a free trade agreement in May, which will set the stage for eliminating duties on over 99 percent of goods manufactured in the U.S. and exported to Australia. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick commented at the signing: "In addition to freeing trade in industrial goods, the new FTA removes barriers to agricultural products, investment, government procurement, and services while increasing protection for intellectual property and freeing electronic commerce."
The USTR's office reports that annual trade in goods and services between the two countries is nearly $29 billion while two-way foreign direct investment equals about $61 billion. The U.S. enjoys a bilateral goods and services trade surplus of $9 billion.
Meanwhile, the U.S. will keep in effect some restrictions on Australian imports- for instance sugar, beef, and dairy products-though the restrictions will be phased out over the next 18 years.
Aside from the Australia free trade agreement, the U.S. has implemented FTAs with Israel, Canada and Mexico (NAFTA), as well as Jordan, Chile, and Singapore.
