Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

The member opposite says they delivered big. They did not. In the US FTA they agreed to an 18-year phase-in for the reduction of tariffs on beef—18 years—and 18 years to agree to the full phase-in of dairy quota increases. There are no 18-year phase-ins under this deal. On the contrary, this is a World Trade Organisation-plus agreement, an FTA that truly enhances what can be achieved in the multilateral and regional fora.

On services and investment the outcomes that we have achieved go beyond the commitments both Chile and Australia have locked into at the WTO. This is WTO-plus in the real meaning of the word. It also includes a commitment by both parties to lock in any future liberalisation achieved on services and investment. This is by two means: a ratchet mechanism, which locks in any liberalisation achieved within Chile on services and investment, and a most favoured nation clause, which extends to Australia any liberalisation Chile grants to any new free trade agreement partner.

This high-quality outcome is consistent with what Labor has been saying about bilateral FTAs for some considerable time. Contrary to what the opposition has argued, we are not against bilateral FTAs. Rather, consistent with our national interests, we have recalibrated our trade policy towards multilateralism because that is where the biggest gains will arise. But this has never been about ignoring FTAs or underplaying their role. This FTA shows that Labor is about quality bilateral FTAs that reinforce and support our efforts in the multilateral arena. This is the Rudd government’s first FTA and it does just that. It is not just rhetoric. We have translated our policy into action.

Since coming into office, we have pushed hard to secure the high-quality outcome that we now have. We received an array of FTAs at different stages of development. This was the one that we focused most on because we believed that there was a real opportunity with the right political will to get an outcome that we have been advocating and the previous government could not deliver.

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