Havachat: Free, fair or foolish? The Australian-US FTA - Day 3

• The effects nationally and at State/Regional level;
• The effects to be measured through social and economic audits, including the impact on various regions and industry sub sectors;
• Such studies must draw on a wide range of expertise and not just the neo-Liberal supporters of free trade;
• Such studies must assess the impact on the capacity of Australia to make future interventions for the benefit of society, the economy and the national independence.

Stage Three

Ratification of any treaty should be on an "accept or reject" basis.

A Parliamentary Trade Agreement Committee should be established with the responsibility to commission multi-disciplinary research from a wide range of sources on the consequences of various trade-treaty options.

The Committee must produce an agreed objectives statement at the commencement of any negotiations.

This approach would go some way to lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding trade negotiations.

Negotiations are taking place currently in Hawaii and the Australian public is being kept in the dark as to the issues, problems or progress in negotiations. I put this proposal forward as a constructive proposition. The AMWU is not opposed to international trade but we are opposed to the current structures, which excluded civil society and leave negotiations to the elite and those with vested interests.

Alan, you are wrong when you argue it is the overall balance of total trade and investment that matters and Australia is in good shape.

Between 1985 and 1995 ETM exports increased by 17 per cent per annum. This was a period when tariff cuts had just started and Australia had an interventionist industry policy.

Over the past seven years (1995 - 2002) ETM exports have collapsed, growing by only 6 per cent.

The ETM trade deficit has blown out from $42 billion to $70 billion and is the main factor explaining our burgeoning Current Account deficit.

Foreign direct investment in manufacturing has collapsed and unprocessed commodity exports have grown more than twice the rate of our ETM exports.

Sorry Alan, your dogma doesn't stand up to the facts. I suppose, given your "vision" on I.T. at least we will have the latest technology to count the sheep!