Public Anxiety Increases over Free Trade Agreement

Until the full text of the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement is released sometime in mid March, the full extent of the deal announced on 9th February in Washington will not be known.

Uncertainty is exacerbated by the confusing reports of the websites of the respective agencies - the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

The secretive nature of the talks and the refusal of the Howard government to reveal details of the agreement have not done the administration any favours in terms of public approval.

A poll conducted by government and public relations firm, Hawker Britton, shortly after the US Free Trade Agreement (USFTA) was announced indicates that public support in Australia for the deal has dropped by 18%. From December 2003 to February 2004, support dropped from 53% to 35% and opposition rose from 24% to 37%.

"The survey shows that the agreement itself has disappointed many people. I suspect that by referring to the trade agreement as 'free', this raised expectations that the final agreement would be one of trade with no restrictions" said Bruce Hawker, Managing Director of government and public relations firm Hawker Britton.

Dr Patricia Ranald, policy manager at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and Convenor of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET), highlighted some of the differences between the US and Australian published accounts of the agreement:

"The US government summary version of the US Free Trade Agreement contains some nasty surprises on the price of medicines, Australian content in new media and the Foreign Investment Review Board.

"The government will not publish the full text of the agreement for several weeks. This shows the dangers of secret trade negotiations when we are not told the details until after the deal is done.

"We call on the government to publish the full text of the FTA now for public debate and subject it to full vote by parliament, not just by Cabinet."

ACTU President, Sharon Burrow also expressed doubts about the true nature of the agreement and the extent of benefits to Australia.

"The Howard Government's credibility is also seriously strained by the different messages coming from Australia's Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the US Trade Department on changes to local content laws in the arts and entertainment industry. The US is trumpeting the deal as providing unprecedented access for US film and TV companies to the Australian market while DFAT is playing down its significance. The ACTU smells a rat somewhere."

"On the face of it, this deal falls far short of the mark. Australian working families deserve better from their Government. The deal should now be referred to a Senate Inquiry for closer public scrutiny and so we can see if it can be amended and improved or just thrown out."

For more information visit

www.aftinet.org.au

www.actu.asn.au/public/news/1076302841_22994.html

www.hawkerbritton.com.au

February 2004 contents