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Back Issues
| Solid progress marks the resumption of free trade talks | | Print | |
| Sep / Oct 2008 | |||
 Australia’s chief negotiator, Ric Wells, says discussions at the 11th round FTA Talks in Beijing have been constructive.The latest round of negotiations on an Australia-China FTA opened in Beijing on June 16, with renewed vigour and a positive approach. They were the first talks since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visited China in April, where both countries leaders agreed to “unfreeze” the FTA negotiations. The Trade Minister Simon Crean also met China’s Commerce Minister, Chen Deming in April, and agreed to establish a more intensive work program for the free trade agreement. Building on these developments, the 11th round of free trade talks produced some genuine steps forward, after many months of slow progress. China tabled a revised tariff offer, which contained some improvements on industrial products. Talks on priority product areas, particularly in agriculture, will be stepped up in the coming months. This is an area where we believe that China’s offer needs to be improved. Australia and China held constructive discussions on customs procedures, where it seems both sides are able to advance relatively quickly. Good progress was also made on technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, narrowing our differences even further. China has now agreed to include government procurement in the FTA, but both sides are yet to agree on the detail of the coverage. This will continue to be a difficult area as China wants to negotiate market access commitments with Australia after it has joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement. This is a process that is likely to take some time. Both sides discussed areas for early outcomes. Australia is seeking early outcomes in financial services, education and training, while China has asked for early outcomes on investment issues and quarantine. Of course, any such outcomes would not prejudice the broader results that both countries want to achieve from the FTA. On education and training, China has agreed to consider our proposals. These include recognition of qualifications, attracting Chinese students to Australia and clarity on funds repatriation. We expect to explore the way forward on these and other issues at the next round in September. We shortened our list of priorities relating to financial services, across the banking, insurance and securities/funds management sectors. While the negotiations were constructive, it is clear that China would prefer outcomes that require less change to regulation. On investment, China again expressed interest in Australia’s foreign investment screening. China also outlined an interest in our infrastructure access regime, particularly in relation to minerals and energy. We explained that Australia welcomes foreign investment, and assesses all relevant foreign investment applications on a non-discriminatory basis, to ensure that they are not contrary to the national interest. China also put forward a number of early outcome proposals on quarantine issues. We have agreed to consider these, but we reminded China that Australia does not negotiate its approach to import risk analyses, quarantine standards or systems for assessing food safety risk in its FTAs. We had two days of constructive discussions on the draft text of the intellectual property chapter. Both sides have established a detailed forward work plan to intensify these negotiations over the next few rounds. In addition, both sides started work on the rules of origin schedule during this round, using change of tariff classification as the principal methodology. It is clear that this part of the negotiations will not be resolved quickly, and we have flagged the need for intersessional meetings. We have also exchanged views with China on the rules of origin text. Australia has now canvassed with China the full range of issues which affect trade in goods, which are likely to be built into the FTA. We continued to advocate our proposed approach on a range of non-tariff measures affecting trade, including mandatory re-testing of wool and automatic import licensing. Talks on the draft electronic commerce chapter, tabled by Australia, were largely positive, and some key elements have been agreed to. The intent of the chapter is to promote the development of electronic commerce by eliminating barriers to its use. Negotiations have also continued on a possible competition policy chapter. Australia noted that it would like to intensify discussions after China’s new Anti-monopoly Law comes into force in August 2008. Overall, the 11th round of free trade talks were marked by solid progress on a number of fronts, and the next round of negotiations is scheduled for the first half of September 2008. ■ *Ric Wells is the Chief Negotiator, Australia-China Free Trade Agreement. For more information, contact the China FTA Taskforce: E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it F: +61 2 6112 2468
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