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Winners and losers

Janine Perrett
21 November 2014

By Janine Perrett

Well all that goodness didn't last long now did it?

I'm talking about our fabulous new trade bonanza with China that was signed on Monday. Then on Thursday comes news that our new besties are imposing a curb on coal for the first time ever.

It will be a 5% limit on growth over the next seven years, which will of course hit our poor suffering coal miners wanting to export to our fabulous new open trade partner.

Obviously in all the FTA euphoria, the Chinese leaders didn't get the memo from Tony Abbott that coal is great – actually the very future of humanity. More coal good, less coal bad.

Now this obviously has nothing to do with our new trade deal, and comes after China promised to reverse that recent tariff they imposed on our dirty coal exports, but nonetheless it raises some questions about getting too carried away with the whole FTA palava.

For example, will these new coal curbs wipe out some of the great economic benefits of the FTA? Surely not say the cheerleaders still basking in the glow of the deal.

Maybe not say coal analysts who noted Chinese coal imports were falling last year anyway.

You're damn right say plenty of others not swept away with FTA spin.

Speaking of that FTA, one definite big winner whom no-one focused upon was Gina Rinehart.

Remember only a week ago, just before the deal was finalised she revealed that she was expanding her mining empire into exporting infant formula into China.

It seemed an unlikely addition to her empire but she saw great business opportunities and growth ahead.

Indeed. And it’s immediate.

As stated in some of the FTA stories of winners, the infant formula market will now be opened up.

Who said she wasn't an incredibly savvy businesswoman?  Her timing was truly amazing.

 

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