Malcolm Turnbull has welcomed the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership sealed on Tuesday as "a gigantic foundation stone" for the economy which will deliver jobs and growth while avoiding aspects that would have seen increased costs to the taxpayer for medicines.
The high praise came despite nagging doubts over the impact of the deal on some industry sectors and amid fears that the historic pact, the biggest multilateral trade agreement since 1994, could yet fall victim to bruising Washington politics and be blocked in the US Congress.
It faces greatest resistance from protectionist Democrats, but is likely also to garner strong condemnation from campaigning Republicans such as the billionaire extremist Donald Trump.
The agreement, which could even see global roaming fees for mobile phones reduced, comes as global trade growth actually slipped into negative territory in the first half of this year, as national governments moved to protect jobs in the short-term at the expense of free trade.
Australian winners from the TPP are expected to include producers of beef, dairy, grain, wine, horticulture, and a vast array of services all seeking to expand into lucrative Asia-Pacific markets slated to contain 3 billion middle-class consumers within 15 years.
Praising his Trade Minister Andrew Robb who led Australia's team in the gruelling five-day talks, Mr Turnbull described the TPP deal as "a great outcome that would open up markets across the whole Pacific which is 40 per cent of the world economy".
"This is a very big achievement," he said.
"It is the biggest multilateral trade outcome for decades, and we will see big markets opening up for Australia whether it is in agriculture, or in services, or in manufacture, this is the foundation for our future prosperity ... our children's jobs depend on us having access to these big and growing markets and this opens so many doors simultaneously, and at the same time, we have preserved our vital national interests.
"There are no changes being made to our laws and regulations relating to pharmaceuticals or drugs, there are no changes to the PBS [Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme], no increase in the costs of medicines in Australia which was a matter of concern."
But the benefits will be variable. In beef for example, Australian producers have won significantly lower import tariffs on sales into Japan at 9 per cent, compared to those just recently celebrated as a breakthrough in Australia's bilateral deal with Tokyo at 23.5 per cent. Exporters will be able to select the lower tariff.
But in dairy, freer access to Japanese consumers will likely also see direct competition for sales from giant producers in Canada and the US.
The National Farmers Federation said the benefits of multilateral deals can outweigh bilateral agreements because they can be expanded to include other nations, and because they incorporate nations with whom Australia does not currently have one-on-one arrangements, such as Canada, Mexico, and Peru.
On global roaming fees, the official summary of rules notes that TPP countries which reduce wholesale costs would be required to pass those savings on.
"TPP parties agree that, if a party chooses to regulate rates for wholesale international mobile roaming services, that party shall permit operators from the TPP countries that do not regulate such rates the opportunity to also benefit from the lower rates," it states.
Financial service providers are among the more enthusiastic supporters of the agreement, declaring it will open access to huge new markets in the region.
The Financial Services Council chief executive, Sally Loane, said: "Regulatory restrictions in participating TPP countries will be removed for Australian firms which will create more streamlined processes and transparency for licensing of financial services firms."
"It will further integrate our economy with those in the Asia Pacific region which is the fastest growing region in the world, and the one we want to be able to access," she said.
The situation confronting Australian "bricks and mortar" retailers is less clear amid concerns the new access granted to international online retailers will erode sales further. There are also concerns that major US digital economy players will be free to expand into Australia without requirements for local investment and jobs.
Governments from the Pacific Rim economies celebrated the breakthrough after more than five years of talks, which will phase in tariff reductions on imports in some cases down to zero, as well as standardise rules and accreditation for professional services in health, education, engineering, architecture, and others.
Labor's trade spokeswoman Penny Wong cautiously welcomed the deal. "We also note today Mr Robb's assurances that this agreement will not decrease accessibility of medicines in this country and it will not put upward pressure on the price of medicine. We will hold Mr Robb to that assurance," she said.
But she said the opposition remained sceptical over the future efficacy of supposed "safeguards" protecting governments from law suits by disgruntled companies under the TTP's "investor-state disputes settlement" provisions.
"We've said in government we wouldn't include them in trade agreements," she said bluntly.
"We are concerned at the inclusion of those clauses which allow multinationals to sue governments. Andrew Robb says he's negotiated good safeguards, we'll certainly have a look at them but Labor as a matter of principle is opposed to those clauses."
