Tag: FTA

Free Trade

Former trade minister Andrew Robb takes swipe at Washington’s China policy

Correction Robb secured the ALP’s FTA’s he merely was a minister who signed on the dotted line. The ALP did the hard yards. (ODT)

Former trade minister Andrew Robb has attacked United States policy towards China, saying both sides of politics in Washington were obsessed with a “futile and counterproductive” effort to contain the rising Asian power.

Mr Robb, who has received a large salary as a consultant to Chinese firm Landbridge, launched the broadside against Australia’s major ally during a speech to the mining industry on Monday night.

The former minister, who secured several free trade agreements during his time in government, including that with Beijing, said both China and India were re-emerging as major players in Asia and would “share” power with the US over the course of this century.

via Former trade minister Andrew Robb takes swipe at Washington’s China policy

China FTA

China free trade agreement to invite wave of Chinese workers, drive down wages: report

If the China-Australia free trade agreement proceeds without labour market protections, the Turnbull government will “effectively surrender autonomy over its migration laws” and invite a wave of Chinese workers into Australia, driving down local wages and conditions, a new report has found.

Source: China free trade agreement to invite wave of Chinese workers, drive down wages: report

Australian Economy

How many jobs? The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement will create hardly any

The free trade deal is now about jobs, except the government has got the number all wrong.

Source: How many jobs? The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement will create hardly any

Australian Economy

China-Australia free trade arguments fail to bridge divide

Like the old black and whites chronicling the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the bellicose arguments for and against the China-Australia free trade agreement do not yet connect.

One sign that the government is losing ground publicly is that it has suddenly stopped using the term “free trade agreement”. Focus groups perhaps? (The government is approaching the issue as if they were selling a Mars Bar.)

Source: China-Australia free trade arguments fail to bridge divide

Australian Economy

Fact Check: Does the China Free Trade Agreement threaten Australian jobs?

Unions say the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement will cost jobs

  • The claim: Unions say the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement “allows Chinese companies to bring in their own workforce for projects over $150 million and removes the requirement that jobs be offered to local workers first”.
  • The verdict: The agreement allows the Immigration Department to decide that jobs should be offered to local workers before it issues visas to overseas workers, but it does not require this to happen. The ACTU’s claim checks out.
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TPP

Tony Abbott and the Coalition: stand up for Australian democracy and stop the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership.

For years, there’s been talk of creating a new free trade deal that would span countries bordering the Asia-Pacific, including the US, Canada, New Zealand, as well as several countries in Latin America and Asia. The deal is called the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – or “TPP” for short.The TPP agenda is being driven by big business, big pharmaceuticals and big tobacco – but the impacts will affect all Australians.Between foreign corporations suing our governments over public health measures and environmental protection laws, higher pharmaceutical prices, and surveillance of Australians’ internet usage, there’s a lot for citizens to be concerned about – which is why Prime Minister Abbott and Trade Minister Robb are keeping it quiet.

What we do know from leaked parts of the agreement is terrifying. But most Australians haven’t even heard about the TPP. That’s why we need to sound the alarm now, and sound it loudly.

Can you sign the petition calling on our politicians not to sign our rights away and share the video with everyone you know?

Want to know more?

If the trade agreement includes Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions, it could mean that foreign-owned companies will have the power to sue the Australian Government for decisions that adversely impact on their investments in Australia. Worst of all, these cases would be played out in secret international courts which only corporations have access to.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is currently undergoing negotiations between 12 countries: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

This is already being seen in the case of tobacco giant Phillip Morris, which is using an ISDS provision in the Australian-Hong Kong treaty to sue the Australian Government over its plain-packaging laws. When Quebec placed a ban on dangerous fracking processes in a local river, a trade agreement similar to the TPP made it possible for a foreign-owned energy company to file a $250 million lawsuit against the Canadian government.It’s already happening in El Salvador, where a Canadian company is suing the government for $315 million in “loss of future profits” because local citizens won a hard-fought campaign against a gold mine that threatened to contaminate their water supplies.It’s happening in Argentina, where the government imposed a freeze on water and energy bills during the GFC and was sued by an international utilities company.

It’s even happening in Canada, where American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is demanding $500 million in compensation — as well as changes to Canadian patent laws — because courts revoked two of its patents for lack of evidence around the drugs’ supposed benefits.

For more on the potential dangers of ISDS provisions, see ABC Radio National’s story here.

The treaty gives global pharmaceutical companies far-reaching power to extend their patents in order to prevent or delay the manufacture of cheaper generic medicines and curb subsidy programs that keep drugs more affordable in Australia and elsewhere. Imagine having to pay $50-$100 – or more – for a simple asthma inhaler. That’s the average cost in the US, when they currently sell for less than $10 here.

…and dob you in for possible copyright infringement. We all know piracy is illegal, but this treaty gives US companies the power to pull strings that could make heavy-handed spying, fines, internet service disconnection and even criminal charges the norm for even the most minor and potentially unintentional infringements. And what about privacy?

Foreign companies can sue Australia for protecting our environment…
When Quebec placed a ban on dangerous fracking processes in a local river, a trade agreement similar to the TPP made it possible for a foreign-owned energy company to file a $250 million lawsuit against the Canadian government. We really don’t need foreign-owned mining companies bullying our government or preventing us from protecting our land.

Read more
For more information about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, click here to read the Australian Fair Trade & Investment Network’s (AFTINET) explainer.