Don't forget Howard and the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), which came into effect on 1 January 2005. That killed the Australian car industry more than anything else, yet no one seems to know about it.Thailand subsequently changed their engine capacity rules after they signed the agreement, so Australian cars weren't suitable for their market, and we let them take over the light commercial market for no gain whatsoever. The Thai-built ones include the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, Mazda BT-50, Mitsubishi Triton, Holden Coloroado, Isuzu D-Max and Nissan Navara. The ute-based SUV models sold here include Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Ford Everest, Holden Colorado 7, Toyota Fortuner and the Isuzu MU-X. Passenger cars built in Thailand also include the Ford Fiesta, Suzuki Celerio, and Honda’s Civic, Jazz, City, CR-V, and HR-V.
I'm all for a level playing field, and not being a sucker, like we have been with Thailand. But experience shows that tariffs rarely achieve that by themselves.
