- Negotiations
A bilateral trade agreement between Australia and China was finalised in 2015.
This agreement is controversial in Australia because it increases entry of temporary Chinese workers in a large number of occupations, without testing first if local workers are available. There are also provisions for Chinese companies with projects worth over $150 million to negotiate the number of foreign workers they bring in as well as their pay and conditions. This is the first time an arrangement which could allow most of the workforce to be imported has been included in any Australian trade agreement. It is unclear whether recent changes to the regulations of Australia’s Migration Act will be sufficient to ensure that such workers are not exploited.
Temporary migrant workers in Australia are already at a high risk of exploitation. There have been a number of studies showing exploitation of temporary workers, working long hours in dangerous conditions at less than minimum wages. Without greater protections in place there are concerns that increased numbers of temporary workers negotiated through trade agreements could lead to more cases of exploitation.
One important impact of the agreement is how it will open the doors to more Chinese investment in Australian agriculture. China is looking to secure its food supply by investing in agribusiness abroad, whether by investing directly in farms or buying into supply chains. Australia is an important source of meat and to a lesser extent dairy for China, and so ChAFTA is expected to boost Chinese deals in Australia’s livestock industry.
The ChAFTA is also controversial because it contains Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions, which allow foreign investors to bypass national courts and sue governments before an arbitration tribunal for compensation if they can argue that changes to law or policy harm their investment. This gives increased power to corporations at the expense of democracy and the public interest.
Contributed by AFTINET
last update: March 2016
Photo: PughPugh/CC BY 2.0
21-May-2015
Six months after the deal was struck, the full details of Australia’s trade agreement with China are expected to be released within weeks.
13-May-2015
Australian Associated Press
Labor has called on the government to release the text of the Australia-China free trade deal, after the Coalition revealed the budget would take a $6 billion hit over four years as tariffs came down.
24-Mar-2015
Xinhua
The Senate inquiry will look into the agreement’s impact on Australia’s economy and trade, domestic labor market, investment and cultural policies and verify it’s in Australia’s national interest.
12-Mar-2015
SMH
Trade Minister Robb says that Australia "will automatically receive the same treatment provided by China to any other country in the future including the EU and the United States."
19-Dec-2014
Mortgage Business
Australia’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China is expected to boost Chinese acquisitions of Australian residential land banks, hotels, office buildings and agricultural landholdings
24-Nov-2014
Mondq
While the new FTA generally opens up Australian assets to Chinese investors, farmland deals valued at over $15 million will face foreign investment review scrutiny.
23-Nov-2014
International trade experts and diplomats have been astonished at one-sided gains made by Australia in this week’s free trade deal with China, with some believing Australia is poised to ride on the coat tails of a new era in China opening to international trade.
20-Nov-2014
The Age
The New Hope dairy investment could be the first of many deals fuelled by the historic China-Australia free trade agreement.
19-Nov-2014
SBS
Mining groups fear standards could slip at Australian mines if Chinese companies are allowed to bring in their own workers.
18-Nov-2014
SMH
The deal struck between China and Australia on Monday will contain an Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism that will allow Chinese corporations to challenge the Australian government for "pretty much anything", say academics