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The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement: An Assessment

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  • Philippa Dee

Abstract

Australia and the United States signed a bilateral trade agreement in 2004. This paper analyses the provisions of the agreement, compares the provisions with other bilateral and multilateral agreements and comments on the modelling that the Australian Government used to estimate the likely benefits of the agreement. The author concludes that the modelling relied on overstates the potential gains from the agreement, which establishes many undesirable precedents, especially in relation to sugar, rules of origin, safeguard provisions and intellectual property. The author argues that bilateral agreements of this type could be severely disruptive to future trade relations within the Asian region, particularly with China.

Suggested Citation

  • Philippa Dee, 2005. "The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement: An Assessment," Asia Pacific Economic Papers 345, Australia-Japan Research Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:csg:ajrcau:345
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    File URL: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/pdf/pep/pep-345.pdf
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    1. Heid, Benedikt & Larch, Mario, 2016. "Gravity with unemployment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 70-85.
    2. Bayari, Celal, 2012. "Australian Trade and FDI Relations with Japan: Reflecting on the Past Seven Decades," MPRA Paper 102292, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 19 Aug 2012.
    3. Philippa Dee & Anne McNaughton, 2013. "Promoting Domestic Reforms through Regionalism," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Services Trade Reform Making Sense of It, chapter 14, pages 381-427, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Philippa Dee, 2007. "East Asian Economic Integration and its Impact on Future Growth," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 405-423, March.
    5. Niven Winchester, 2006. "Liberating middle earth: How will changes in the global trading system affect New Zealand?," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 45-79.

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    JEL classification:

    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations

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