Senate Report slams secretive trade agreement process but qualifies call to release texts before deals are signed

“The analysis of the Report of the Senate Inquiry into the Australian trade agreement process released today reflects the views of the overwhelming majority of submissions criticizing the current secret and undemocratic process and calling for the text of trade agreements to be released for public and parliamentary scrutiny before they are signed.

These demands for transparency have grown because trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal with issues like medicines, copyright, food regulation and other public interest issues which should be decided through the democratic parliamentary process, not secretly signed away in trade deals,” Dr Patricia Ranald Coordinator of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) said today.

“But unfortunately the Report’s actual recommendations, while improving on the current process, fall short of full transparency and democracy in a number of areas. For example, the report recommends that the Australian government seeks agreement from negotiating partners for the final draft text of trade agreements to be tabled in parliament prior to authorisation for signature, but does not make this a condition of entering negotiations,” said Dr Ranald.

“The Report recommends that, during negotiations, parliamentarians and their principal advisers and stakeholders with relevant expertise from industry, civil society, unions, consumer and other groups be granted access to draft treaty text but only under conditions of confidentiality. This severely limits debate of the details of the text during negotiations,” said Dr Ranald.

“The report also recommends that the Join Standing Committee on Treaties take a more active role prior to and during trade negotiations, but only through confidential briefings,” said Dr Ranald.

“The report recommends National Interest Analyses (NIAs), which are currently very limited documents prepared by DFAT, should be prepared by an independent body. They should also be more comprehensive and address the environmental, health and human rights effects of trade agreements and be presented to the government before an agreement is authorised by Cabinet for signature, but only “wherever possible,” said Dr Ranald.

“In short, the Report presents a robust analysis of the problems of the current process, but it is disappointing that it has failed to follow the example of the World Trade Organisation which releases draft negotiating texts, and the example of the European Union which has agreed unequivocally to release the text of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership before it is signed. The report also shied away from recommending that Parliament vote on the whole text of trade agreements, rather than just the implementing legislation,” said Dr Ranald.

ENDS

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