Implementation of the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement: hearing before the Committee on Ways and Means

Original publisher: Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 2005. LC Number: KF27 .W3 2004a OCLC Number: (OCoLC)61519784 Subject: Free trade -- United States. Excerpt: ... 11 strong deterrents against these activities, and in the area of gov-ernment procurement, one of the biggest gains that the National Association of Manufacturers ( NAM ) is looking toward, U.S. sup-pliers will be a step ahead of most other countries by obtaining through this FTA nondiscriminatory rights to bid on contracts from 80 Australian central government industries. In this agreement, once again, the United States has been able to include the world's highest standards of enforceable labor and environmental provi-sions in any trade agreements. We are the leaders in the nexus be-tween trade, workers ' rights, and care for the environment, and this agreement is no exception. This is an agreement forged in close partnership with Congress and this Committee, and we are grateful for your leadership in this area. Finally, in enforcement, our FTAs are our single most effec-tive tool in setting the world's highest standards for a level playing field in trade. Our FTAs typically contain hundreds of pages of en-forceable obligations that are the bedrock of building a fair, level, and enforceable playing field in the trade between nations. The U.S.-Australia FTA is no exception to this tradition of excellence. The nearly 1,500 pages of rules and commitments that comprise this FTA will form the basis of our enforcement program. In addi-tion to these specific benefits, it is important to keep in mind that Australia has been one of our closest and most reliable partners in pursuing global trade liberalization. Both of our countries are deep-ly committed to the Doha development agenda, and our alliance on this FTA will further fortify our World Trade Organization ( WTO ) work together. We have the success of the Doha development agen-da at the top of our respective tra...