AFTINET: Final Report On Trade Agreement Framework

Legislate To Increase Transparency, Include Labour And Environmental Standards And Exclude Corporate Rights To Sue Governments

AFTINET welcomes the key recommendation of the Final Report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into the government’s approach to trade negotiations that the government establish a legislative framework for negotiating trade and investment agreements, including both the process of negotiations and the content of agreements. The Interim Report released in February 2024 recommended a more transparent trade negotiation process.

The current process is that the text of trade agreements remains secret until after they are signed, the Parliamentary review of them cannot change the text, there is no independent evaluation of costs and benefits or economic social and environmental impacts, and that Parliament does not vote on the whole agreement but only the enabling legislation, if such legislation is required.

Dr Patricia Ranald AFTINET Convener:

“AFTINET welcomes the broad conclusion of both reports recommending more transparency in the current trade negotiation process, independent reviews of the costs and benefits of trade agreements and analysis of their economic, social and environmental impacts. “

“We welcome recommendations to include chapters in trade agreements on human rights, labour rights and environmental standards, and to exclude harmful provisions in previous agreements like corporate rights to sue governments, (known as Investor-State Dispute Settlement or ISDS) and waiving of labour market testing for overseas temporary workers.”

“We also welcome more consultation with business, unions and civil society using a US-style cleared advisor system. However confidentiality requirements for cleared advisors appear to mean that reviews of the costs and benefits of agreements and analysis of their economic, social and environmental impacts may not be publicly available before the agreement is signed. It is not clear whether final text of agreements will be released before signing, except in cases where other negotiating parties like the EU have a policy to do so.”

“The recommendations to consider the inclusion of provisions that protect and promote Australian First Nations intellectual property rights, and to consult with stakeholders on digital trade provisions to preserve regulatory space are welcome but less definite than other commitments.”

“Although the report discusses the dangers of longer medicine monopolies in bilateral and regional trade agreements, there is no specific recommendation to exclude them. This is a disappointing omission.”

Summary of the Interim Report recommendations to legislate a more transparent process:

• establishment of a trade advisory committee and a cleared advisor system, involving business, civil society and union representatives based on the US model, which would have access to draft texts during negotiations. Cleared advisors would be bound to confidentiality requirements and would not provide information to the public.
• the government would publish negotiation aims objectives and expected costs and benefits before negotiations start.
• greater transparency and information to stakeholders and the public at a minimum of the equivalent to the information provided by other governments in the negotiations. In the case of the EU for example, this would mean publication of Australia’s objectives and initial negotiating proposals, and publication of the text before it is signed.
• Regular reports on the negotiations to Parliamentary committees and independent reviews of agreements to be held five years after the agreement comes into force.

Summary of the Final Report recommendations to legislate both process and content issues

• Independent reviews of the costs and benefits of trade agreements .
• analysis of the economic, social and environmental implications of trade agreements. Reviews and analysis would only be provided to cleared advisors, not to the public.
• Seek inclusion of human rights, labour and environmental chapters in trade agreements that reflect and refer to relevant United Nations and International Labour Organization Conventions and Declarations.
• Consider the inclusion of provisions that protect and promote Australian First Nations intellectual property rights.
• Seek exclusion of Investor-State Dispute Settlement ISDS) from agreements and exclude waving of labour market testing for temporary workers.
• Consultation with stakeholders in emerging technologies on proposed provisions in trade agreements to ensure that the ability of future governments to regulate such technologies in the public interest is not limited.
• establish a legislative framework for the negotiation of Australia’s trade and investment agreements.

© Scoop Media