Havachat: Free, fair or foolish? The Australian-US FTA - Day 1

The opportunity for Australian companies to have the right to operate in the US on the same basis as US companies will generate bigger benefits for Australia. It is a bigger market. Australian farm groups now expect to secure significant access to US farm markets though an FTA. Beef exports, worth today about $1 billion could double over a couple of decades. Dairy and sugar exports could also increase by several hundred million dollars.

Last year our exporters of steel, wine and lamb to the US earned about one billion dollars. These industries are confident they can expand exports, earning hundreds of millions of dollars extra and create more jobs. All have been harassed in recent year by ad hoc US trade restrictions. An FTA could curtail this.

US unions supported the bans on Australian steel exports. Surely they couldn't justify them on the grounds that industrial conditions for steelworkers in Australia are exploitative? All they did was threaten the jobs of Australian steelworkers. They would be better off suing the US Government for adjustment packages than attacking imports.

An FTA with the US will protect jobs for Australian workers and increase jobs for Australian workers.

Alan.

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Day 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5.