Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the following reports: report 201, Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and report 202, Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, incorporating a dissenting report.

Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I'm glad to make a statement on the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties reports into two trade agreements, the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. The agreement with the UK is a modern and comprehensive trade agreement that reflects the longstanding quality and depth of the political, cultural and economic relationship between Australia and the United Kingdom. The agreement's 32 chapters cover the full scope of trade and regulatory matters. It ventures into new areas but preserves, at the same time, policy and regulatory space for the parties in future, particularly in rapidly evolving sectors such as digital trade and financial services.

It is the case that there remain some barriers to trade in goods, particularly quotas on red meat, but the fact is that, upon entering into force, 99 per cent of Australian goods exports by value would enter the UK without tariffs. The liberalisation of the rules for services and investment also has the potential to open new markets for Australian service suppliers. As with other trade agreements considered by the committee in recent years, there was significant interest by stakeholders in the question of temporary foreign labour access arrangements, particularly provisions in the agreement relating to contractual service suppliers and the recognition of professional qualifications in sensitive areas like education. The committee believes there is value in tracking and assessing the outcomes with respect to temporary foreign labour access that have occurred under trade agreements settled in recent years. The committee will seek an opportunity to consider those data in 2023.

In comparison to the free trade agreement with the UK, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement is less comprehensive in scope, reflecting the fact that it's an early-harvest agreement made in advance of negotiations for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement. It nevertheless establishes a framework for future liberalisation, market access and investment opportunities—

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