Trade - Policy | Sustainable Australia Party

In short:

Partake in the global economy through fair trade that allows a level playing field for Australian workers and businesses

  • Remove trade agreement rules that prevent governments from buying local goods and services
  • Ensure mutually high environmental, human rights, labour and employment standards in all trade agreements
  • Remove migration from all trade agreements

Related policies

Policy Objective

Partake in the global economy through fair trade that allows a level playing field for Australian workers and businesses, while properly protecting Australia’s environment from overdevelopment.

"Rather than being 'export agreements', the ['free trade'] deals for which we have data are better described as import agreements. In every case for which we have clear evidence, our trade agreements seem to have boosted imports more than exports." The Age

Policy Actions (Federal)

To support this objective, Sustainable Australia Party will:

  • Support genuinely fair trade and trade agreements that are in the national interest
  • Implement fair trade policies that address unsustainable cheap imports that unfairly compete with local produce (also see Regional Australia policy)
  • Ensure mutually high environmental standards in all trade agreements, including:
    • Working to urgently achieve a new global agreement that ensures all high emitting countries including economic competitors like China, USA and India meet the same or similar climate goals (also see Environment policy)
  • Ensure compliance with strong human rights, labour and employment conditions in all trade agreements
  • Impose sustainability levies (related to the environment) and social levies (related to labour rights) on products from countries that don’t meet minimum requirements, and place import bans on relevant products from countries where breaches of environmental or human rights standards persist
  • Remove trade agreement rules that prevent governments from buying local goods and services and supporting local jobs and industries

"4192 direct and indirect jobs and $484 million in tax revenue has been lost through the offshoring of four projects in recent years." The New Daily

  • Provide clearer country of origin labelling laws to help consumers easily choose Australian made goods and services
  • Remove immigration from all trade agreements, particularly trade agreements that prioritise foreign workers over Australian workers, and instead manage immigration wholly through the official 'Migration Program'

"For example, labour market testing is not required when it would conflict with Australia's international trade obligations." ABC

  • Remove investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions from all trade agreements.

"ISDS gives additional legal rights to global corporations to sue governments in unfair international tribunals, undermining democratic regulation in the public interest. Trade agreements should not increase corporate power at the expense of communities." The Conversation

  • Re-negotiate all of Australia’s so-called 'Free Trade Agreements' to ensure abovementioned and other Sustainable Australia Party (e.g. Water) policy compliance