· The FTA is sensitive to concerns raised by some members of Congress and some U.S. agricultural sectors, and the agreement uses tariff rate quotas to address those concerns. Accordingly, each Party shall endeavour to ensure that it does not waive such laws or offer to waive or otherwise derogate from such laws in a manner that extends the protection afforded by such laws as an incentive to trade with the other Party or as an incentive to establish, acquire, expand or maintain an investment in its territory. · All U.S. agricultural exports to Australia, worth more than $400 million, will benefit from immediate duty-free access. Latham reacted unexpectedly by conditioning Labour`s support for the free trade agreement on a change meant to protect PBS. [9] This effectively turned the situation around on Howard: when the government dismissed the change as unnecessary, it opened up to allegations that it would not protect Australian interests; In supporting the amendment, he tacitly acknowledged that the original terms of the agreement were inadequate. The bill was eventually amended and passed. The agreement became an important political issue in the run-up to the 2004 elections. After a long period of negotiations under the Howard government`s Trade Minister Mark Vaile, the deal was strongly supported by the Howard government as a huge potential gain for the Australian economy and as essential to the continuation of the US-Australia alliance. Article 19.2 states: “The Parties recognize that it is inappropriate to promote trade or investment by weakening or reducing the protection afforded by their respective environmental laws.” While the system is very effective at keeping many drug prices low, pharmaceutical companies in the U.S.

and Australia are cautious about implementing the system, arguing that higher drug prices are needed to fund the cost of research and development. U.S. pharmaceutical companies claim that when Australians value low-cost drugs, they are essentially stowaways at the expense of research conducted in the United States. [8] In 2003, there were five rounds of negotiations. Nearly 100 negotiators from both countries worked on the free trade agreement. The agreement has nearly 20 chapters, including but not limited to agriculture, industrial products, services, investment, intellectual property, competition policy, market access, environment, labour standards, technical barriers to trade, government procurement, electronic commerce, financial services, telecommunications, and comprehensive legal administrative arrangements such as dispute settlement. As a result of these efforts, the Free Trade Agreement was concluded on February 8, 2004. Chapter 19 addresses concerns that parties may seek commercial benefits by relaxing environmental laws. The agreement requires the legal enforcement of digital rights management systems, however, an Australian legislative committee has published a report stating that this part of the contract has a “significant flaw”: while the agreement provides for permitted exceptions that allow the use of devices to circumvent copyright, it also prohibits access to tools used for such circumvention. The report calls it a “deplorable and inexcusable mistake,” a “glaring error,” and even a “mistake bordering on absurdity.” The committee expressed a firm view that the government must find a solution to the error before implementing this part of the treaty. [4] Australia is one of our oldest and closest allies and shares our common values. Australia has been actively involved in international affairs since World War I and has fought alongside the United States and other allies in all major conflicts to date, uniting in the Persian Gulf in 1991, Afghanistan in 2002 and Iraq in 2003.

The United States and Australia share impressive economic and productivity growth. Both are strongly committed to trade and investment liberalization. In 2018, Australia is the 13th largest economy in the world. With the legal, regulatory, and ideological similarities between the United States and Australia, and with the context of our military and security relations, Australia is an ideal trading partner. The United States and Australia have great interests in each other`s economies. The United States has long had a large trade surplus with Australia. Australia is the 16th largest export market for the United States and the United States is the third largest destination for Australian exports. The United States is the largest investor in Australia, while Australia is the ninth largest investor in the United States.

· Both Parties reaffirm their obligations as members of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and endeavour to ensure that their national laws provide for labour standards consistent with internationally recognized labour principles. The Agreement specifies that it is inappropriate to weaken or reduce national occupational health and safety in order to promote trade or investment between the Parties. The agricultural section of the agreement describes the system for eliminating most tariffs on agricultural products traded between the two countries. It also agrees to eliminate export subsidies if the product in question is exported to one of the two contracting countries. · Australia and the United States have agreed on provisions on electronic commerce that reflect the importance of the issue in global trade and the importance of providing goods and services electronically as an important element of a dynamic e-commerce environment. · Obliges both parties to authorize the seizure, confiscation and destruction of counterfeit and pirated goods and equipment used to manufacture them. Also provides for the enforcement of the Goods in Transit Act to prevent offences from using ports or free zones to exchange pirated copies. Measures can be taken ex officio in border and criminal matters to ensure more effective enforcement. Australia as a whole is heavily dependent on the primary sector, and the main benefits of a free trade agreement between the two countries have been seen as better access to the large US market, but heavily subsidised and protected by Australian producers. In particular, the National Rural and Regional Party campaigned strongly for the agreement to be extended to the export of sugar. The final provisions of the agreement did not go as far as had been hoped, and as a result, some sugar industry lobbyists, including independent Bob Katter, lobbied for the free trade agreement to be rejected. However, many, like the then Premier of Queensland, Peter Beattie, still felt that the deal was a net gain for Australian agriculture and supported ratification on that basis.

For the United States, the free trade agreement improved the overall trade deficit situation and created a trade surplus with Australia, which increased by 31.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004. U.S. exports to Australia rose 11.7% in the first quarter of 2005 to nearly $3.7 billion in the quarter. Agricultural exports to Australia increased by 20%. [Citation needed] · Requires transparent procedures for the registration of trademarks, including geographical indications. Text of the Australian Free Trade Agreement: The full text of the agreement. In 2019, the United States exported $26 billion worth of goods to Australia. The United States has a trade surplus with Australia, which reached about $15 billion in 2019. The main categories of exports from the United States to Australia were transportation equipment, non-electrical machinery, chemicals and computers. Many members of the Australian film and television community have expressed concern about the impact of the agreement on government regulations that apply a mandatory minimum of locally produced content on television.

Given that U.S. content can be purchased from networks at a much lower price than local production of Australian content, there is concern that the agreement could lead to an even greater reduction in the declining share of national media broadcast on Australian television channels and cinemas. As a result, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, along with a number of prominent artists, have individually advocated for the free trade agreement to be rejected on the grounds that it would undermine Australian culture. International Trade Commission Publication 3722: This publication contains HTSUS General Note 28 and a list of goods that became duty-free upon entry into force and the phase-out plan for goods that become duty-free over time. · More than 99 percent of U.S. exports of manufactured goods to Australia will become duty-free immediately after the agreement enters into force. Industrial goods currently account for 93% of total U.S. goods exports to Australia.

· Applies the principle of “first in time, first in law” to trademarks and geographical indications, so that the first person to acquire a right in a trademark or geographical indication is the person who has the right to use it. This chapter also sets out definitions to be used throughout the Agreement to ensure consistency. · Both sides pledge to create a high level of environmental protection and not to weaken or reduce environmental laws in order to attract trade and investment. · Requires a dispute resolution system for trademarks used in Internet domain names, which is important to prevent “cyber-squat” with respect to high-value domain names. Beef: U.S. tariffs above the quota will expire over an 18-year period. The initial increase in imports from Australia under the TRQ quota will represent approximately 0.17% of U.S. beef production and 1.6% of U.S.

beef imports. Quota increases will take effect when the United States . . .