1. GATS Action 11 March: 12.00 at Sydney Water Offices
2. Vaile announces objectives for USFTA
3. Community Forum on GATS and USFTA: Sunday 16 March
4. Cancellation of meeting on the impact of GATS and USFTA on media and broadcasting, 30 March
5. Reminder about Senate inquiry submission date: 21 March

1. GATS Action 11 March: 12.00 at Sydney Water Offices

As mentioned in an earlier bulletin, AFTINET is participating in an international campaign about GATS on 11 March. Please come if you can.

When: 11 March at 12.00 pm

Where: Outside Sydney Water at 115-123 Bathurst St, Sydney

We will have ‘For Sale’ signs to highlight the risk to public water services (as well as other public services) and distribute AFTINET material about GATS and the international campaign, as well as having some short speeches from AFTINET, the Australian Services Union and NGO groups about GATS. We will also do media work.

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2. Vaile announces objectives for USFTA

No free trade without open markets: Vaile to US by John Garnaut, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 March 2003

The Federal Government will abandon free trade talks with the United States if it cannot make substantial inroads for Australian farmers into the US's most heavily protected agricultural markets.

Revealing Australia's specific negotiating objectives for the first time, two weeks before a team of US trade officials arrives in Canberra, the Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, yesterday said liberalising US dairy, sugar, beef and cotton markets would be central to any deal. He also said the Government would not give US companies regulatory concessions that impaired public services such as health, education or local cultural production.

Following a scathing independent study into a free trade agreement, foreshadowed last week in the Herald and publicly released yesterday, Mr Vaile assured farmers he would walk away from any agreement that did not have agriculture exports at its core. Nevertheless, he said the outcome of an agreement could be freer trade rather than free trade.

"The Government has conceded that it's not going to be a free trade agreement," said Labor's trade spokesman, Craig Emerson. "It's just a false name for this false deal."

A trade expert with the National Farmers' Federation, Ben Fargher, said the Government should demand the elimination of all US agricultural subsidies that discriminated against Australian farmers, as well as more obvious tariffs and quotas. Negotiations under the World Trade Organisation were more important than a deal with the US, he said.

US companies have lobbied the Bush Administration to press Australia to scrap foreign ownership restrictions on companies such as Telstra, Qantas and the big banks. They have also sought the softening of quarantine and competition laws, the elimination of quotas that protect Australian children's television, drama and advertising as well as changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Such concessions would contradict Federal Government policy.

A spokesman for Mr Vaile said US pharmaceutical companies were not seeking to "dismantle" the pharmaceutical benefits scheme - which suppresses prices that pharmaceutical companies can charge - but he did not rule out changes.

Patricia Ranald, policy officer at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said vital social policies should not be traded for questionable economic gains. "These issues should be publicly debated and decided by parliaments in Australia, not secretly signed away in a trade agreement which will bring no benefits to Australians," Dr Ranald said.

Contrary to claims by the Government, a report by ACIL Consulting found the economic benefits of an agreement with the US would be slightly below zero. The report was disowned by the government agency that commissioned it, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.

The ACIL report found a free trade deal would reduce GDP by about 0.2 per cent, partly because trade would be diverted from important trading partners in Asia. Mr Vaile's spokesman said the Government was working through the report and wanted to reconcile its unfavourable conclusions with previous government modelling.

Vaile Announces Objectives for Australia - US FTA Minister's Media Release

Australia will pursue a wide-ranging and comprehensive set of objectives in Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the United States, Trade Minister Mark Vaile announced today.  Mr Vaile announced that Australia's specific negotiating objectives would be made publicly available today following detailed consideration of Australia's interests by the Government, and an extensive consultation process with industry, the community and state and territory governments.  The first round of negotiations begins 17-21 March.

"An FTA with the US presents a unique opportunity to advance the interests of Australia's exporters, and offers significant benefits to the nation in terms of economic growth and employment," Mr Vaile said. "The consultative process, begun last November, has highlighted the breadth and depth of the interests and opportunities we can pursue in the FTA negotiations to enhance our economic relationship with the US. "The Government will give a high priority to reducing the most significant market access barriers facing Australian exports, particularly in the agricultural sector.  We will pursue a range of Australian interests in the US market covering all areas of the Australian economy – manufacturing, services, investment, government procurement, telecommunications and electronic commerce, intellectual property rights, and movement of people."

"We will ensure outcomes from the FTA negotiations do not impair Australia's ability to deliver fundamental objectives in health care, education, consumer protection and supporting Australian culture and identity.   The Government remains committed to preserving its ability to regulate in relation to social and cultural objectives, and will ensure the FTA is consistent with that goal."

"Approximately 200 submissions were received from industry, professional and non-government bodies, companies, unions, and individuals.  Almost 60 of these came from peak industry and business organisations, representing the full range of agriculture, services, and manufacturing industry sectors.

"A high standard FTA with the world's major trading power will also add momentum to the objectives we are pursuing through the WTO aimed at strengthening the multilateral trading system and advancing the cause of global trade liberalisation," Mr Vaile said.

The objectives document is at www.dfat.gov.au

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3. Community Forum on GATS and USFTA: Sunday 16 March

There will be a community forum on 16 March at Redfern Town Hall about the GATS and USFTA. This is being convened by Tanya Plibersek, Member for Sydney. The speakers will be:

• Craig Emerson, Shadow Minister for Trade,
• Doug Cameron, National Secretary, AMWU, and
• Pat Ranald, Convenor of AFTINET.

When: Sunday 16 March, 2 pm-3.30 pm

Where: Redfern Town Hall, Pitt Street (cnr Redfern St), Redfern.

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4. Cancellation of meeting on the impact of GATS and USFTA on media and broadcasting, 30 March

Last week we emailed a preliminary notice about a planned public meeting on the impact of GATS and the USFTA on media and broadcasting on 30 March. Unfortunately AFTINET and the Friends of the ABC (NSW) have had to cancel this event because it will clash with other events, and because of the unavailability of some speakers. A similar event may be held later in the year.

Just a reminder that submissions to the Senate inquiry on GATS and the US Free Trade Agreement are due on 21 March. Details were in Bulletin 52.

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5. Reminder about Senate inquiry submission date: 21 March

As advised in earlier bulletins, the closing date for submissions to the Senate inquiry into GATS and the USFTA is 21 March. AFTINET’s submission will be based on our recent submissions to DFAT on the USFTA and GATS, available elsewhere on this website.

The Terms of reference are:

The relevant issues involved in the negotiation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in the Doha development Round of the World Trade Organisation, including but not limited to:

1. the economic, regional, social, cultural, environmental and policy impact of services trade liberalisation
2. Australia’s goals and strategy for the negotiations, including the formulation of and response to requests, the transparency of the process and government accountability
3. the GATS negotiations in the context of the ‘development’ objectives of the Doha Round
4. the impact of the GATS on the provision of, and access to, public services provided by government, such as health, education and water

5. the impact of the GATS on the ability of all levels of government to regulate services and own public assets

The issues for Australia in the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement with the United States of America including but not limited to:

1. the economic, regional, social, cultural, environmental and policy impact of such an agreement
2. Australia’s goals and strategy for negotiations including the formulation of our mandate, the transparency of the process and government accountability
3. the impact on the Doha Development Round

The Committee invites individuals and organisations with knowledge and information relevant to the inquiry's terms of reference to lodge submissions by Friday, 21 March 2003 with:

The Secretary
Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee
Suite S1.57, Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
or email: fadt.sen@aph.gov.au

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