Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement
in Simon Lester and Bryan Mercurio (eds), Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements: Case Studies (Cambridge University Press, 2009) 6-43
22 Pages Posted: 27 Sep 2015
Date Written: 2009
Abstract
In this chapter, we explain and evaluate the AUSFTA primarily from an Australian perspective, given that most countries will be in a more or less analogous position to Australia when negotiating an FTA with the US. AUSFTA provides an illustration of the outcomes that countries with relatively little bargaining and economic power can expect from such an FTA. It also serves as a warning of how even an economically successful developed country may end up sacrificing its welfare, public policies and democratic processes in a dogged pursuit to cement relations with the US, in a manner that would be unlikely in the vigorous negotiating environment of the WTO. We begin by examining the way in which the AUSFTA was negotiated, before turning to some of the substantive outcomes of those negotiations in key areas such as goods, services, investment and intellectual property. Finally, we consider the impact of the AUSFTA to date and its future implications.
Keywords: Australia-US Free Trade Agreement, Australia, United States, free trade agreement
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