Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) Share this | Hansard source

Labor will be supporting the Customs Amendment (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation) Bill 2021 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation) Bill 2021. The partnership, or RCEP, as it's known, was signed on 15 November, 2020, by 15 countries. It's a partnership that includes the members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—as well as five non-ASEAN nations: Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. These countries make up 29 per cent of the world's GDP and 30 per cent of the world's population. RCEP is, quite simply, the biggest trade agreement in history.

Negotiations for RCEP started in 2012 at the 21st ASEAN summit, in Cambodia. Prime Minister Julia Gillard and trade minister Craig Emerson commenced negotiations for RCEP on behalf of Australia. From the beginning, Labor has supported Australia being actively involved in the negotiations for this extraordinary example of regional trade infrastructure, which, very importantly, was led by the ASEAN nations. In a big deal for the world and a big deal for Australia, it includes nine of Australia's top 15 trading partners. It includes economies which account for a total of 58 per cent of Australia's total two-way trade and 67 per cent of our exports. Ratifying RCEP means Australia has a seat at the table in the biggest trade agreement in the world.

Importantly, Australia will be able to influence the rules as the agreement continues to develop. As Dr Jeffrey Wilson of the Perth USAsia Centre has argued:

On arrival, RCEP will be the world’s second most important trade agreement, behind only the World Trade Organization itself.

In essence, RCEP strengthens the rules already developed through a number of Australia's existing free trade agreements and creates new regional architecture for economic activity, with the potential to act as a forum for ongoing dialogue and cooperation. Further, RCEP includes core investment protections, rules requiring payment of compensation where an investment is expropriated, minimum standards for treatment of investors under international law, and compensation for losses due to conflict and civil strife. The agreement provides avenues for tackling non-tariff barriers including in areas such as quarantine and technical standards, by promoting compliance with the WTO rules and further improving cooperation and transparency

Finally, RCEP supports economic capacity building and, in particular, provides a dedicated chapter addressing the capability of small and medium enterprises in the region to benefit from the agreement. These protections and transparency provisions will provide greater certainty and confidence for Australian businesses looking to invest in the region. The advantage of RCEP is that it provides a single set of rules for exporters to use rather than having to rely on the multiplicity of different rules and procedures under the existing FTAs. This cuts or simplifies a great deal of red tape for Australian SMEs and opens up opportunities for Australian exporters looking to utilise regional supply chains.

Regional supply or value chains are an essential component of the contemporary global economy; I know you know that, Madam Acting Deputy President Chandler. They are a cross-border industrial network for producing goods where countries specialise in different stages of reduction associated with a finished product. The Apple iPhone is a classic example of a product dependent on global value chains. The iPhone was designed in the United States, and iPhones are made from hundreds of individual components, all sourced from various specialised suppliers in 43 countries across six continents before final assembly in China for sale to world markets. RCEP as a trading bloc will render such value chains cheaper and easier to access for Australian companies.

While bilateral trade agreements are lucrative in terms of tariff reductions, they render value chains difficult due to the differences in rules, standards and procedures from country to country. As a multilateral trade agreement, RCEP is designed to streamline these rules, encouraging the development of deeper value chains. For example, businesses will be able to use a 'made in RCEP' origin certificate with standardised rules for how much local content is needed to qualify. In this context, RCEP will make the Indo-Pacific the most attractive location to build value chains in the global economy, and a strong, vibrant and prosperous Indo-Pacific is good for Australia.

As an open-trading nation, Australia has been a beneficiary of the multilateral rules based trading system that has operated for decades. Labor recognises that Australia's security and prosperity relies on our continued economic engagement in the world and integration with our region, including through trade and investment. One in five Australian workers is employed in a trade related activity—more than two million Australians. Labor knows that open trade will be the integral component of Australia's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Labor acknowledges that open-trade agreements and comprehensive economic partnerships have become matters of strategic and geopolitical significance. Labor will at all times act in the national interest and in accordance with Australia's international obligations in dealing with open-trade agreements and comprehensive economic partnerships.

As the WTO appellate body stagnates and reform is stalled, regional agreements such as RCEP are integral to creating an even playing field between Australia and its trading partners around the world, but particularly in our vibrant region, from which future prosperity will be earned.

But Labor knows that the community is rightly sceptical about the Morrison-Joyce government's approach to economic change and trade agreements. We all know that the Liberals and the Nationals treat trade agreements like trophies to put on a shelf—ink the deal, get dressed up for the photo op but then no follow-up.

Labor's approach to international trade and trade agreements will be very different. To talk about the ALP platform, an Albanese Labor government will promote Australia's international competitiveness, maintain a commitment to an open economy and work to increase the volume of Australia's trade with other nations. Labor has a long record as an advocate of an open global trading system. Reducing barriers to trade creates more competitive industries and benefits consumers through lower prices and greater choice. Trade is a pathway to a high-skill, high-wage future for working Australians. Labor in government will set out an ambitious open-trade agenda aimed squarely at increasing the complexity of our exports in order to create more well-paid, secure jobs, strengthen economic resilience and ensure that every trade deal we sign will increase the living standards of the Australian people. Labor will promote services sector innovation and identify the capabilities needed to establish Australia as a leading global trade-in-services economy.

The benefit of trade can and must be fairly shared both at home and abroad. Labor will invest in education, training, skills and innovation, building Australia's national infrastructure and promoting the health and welfare of the community so Australians benefit from the opportunities created by trade.

We know from our own history that, while the benefits of trade liberalisation are significant, they can come at a cost to sectors, workers and regions that are disadvantaged by structural change in our economy. In the short term in particular, adjustment support is needed for some sectors, workers and regional communities to ensure that they are lifted up and not left behind by economic change. An Albanese Labor government will not leave those workers and those communities behind. Our industry policy will include structural assistance to sectors of the economy, workers and regions which are impacted by any economic change. When multilateral trade negotiations such as the WTO are not making satisfactory progress, Labor will consider high-quality regional or bilateral trade agreements that are in Australia's national interest and that support the multilateral trading system.

Labor is committed to trade policies consistent with Australian values of justice and equality, community views, workers rights' and the interests of developing countries. Trade agreements must be consistent with Australia's social and economic values, be based on widespread consultation, provide for appropriate minimum and enforceable labour and environmental standards, taking account of social and economic impact, and allow sovereign governments to make decisions and implement policies in the interests of their citizens.

Economic growth has been good for developing countries, but in many economies these benefits have not been fairly shared. More equal economic growth will create decent jobs, lifting people out of poverty, giving them economic independence and supporting human rights.

RCEP, as it stands, does not have an environmental chapter or a labour chapter. When Labor was in government, trade minister Craig Emerson sought to include these provisions. However, other RCEP members were not amendable to this. Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Minister Emerson and the Labor government at the time rightly decided to proceed with negotiations despite this setback to ensure Australia continued to be involved in the creation of regional trade architecture. Opting out and retreating to the sidelines is absolutely not an option and to do so would have set back Australia's relationship with ASEAN significantly.

The intent of RCEP is capacity building, bringing emerging economies in line with established economies like ours. This stands in contrast to other more ambitious agreements with developed economies which include labour chapters with enforceable international labour standards. However, RCEP includes measures with the ability to continue to develop provisions in these areas through successive reviews over time.

Labor in government will not enter into trade agreements that undermine the Australian government's capacity to govern in the interests of all Australians, including any provisions that: remove Australia's protection of local jobs through the regulation of temporary work; waive labour market testing; further limit the capacity of governments to procure goods and services only; require the privatisation or contestability of public services; undermine Medicare, the public health system or the pharmaceutical benefits system; undermine state or Commonwealth workplace laws or occupational licensing arrangements; or undermine laws that relate to antidumping. Labor's shadow minister for trade, the very professional Madeleine King, has sought clear advice from the minister for trade and investment, Mr Tehan, that RCEP broadly complies with these terms and that ratifying the agreement will not undermine the Australian government's capacity to govern in the interests of all Australians.