Australia's information industry backs US agreement

"[Australian Information Industry Association] members have overwhelmingly supported the pursuit of an FTA with the US," according to the final draft of the Association's submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as it "would provide substantial benefits to Australian businesses and the Australian economy".

According to the draft, the imbalance of trade between Australia and the US in IT goods and services is disproportionately larger than between Australia and the rest of the world. Exports to the US are just 18 per cent of our imports, compared with 38 per cent for our trade with other nations.

However, the draft is light on suggestions regarding the position the Australian government should take during FTA negotiations. For example, on the question of government procurement it says" "Currently there is not a consensus within our membership as to whether gains derived from access to the US government procurement market would outweigh the current industry development benefits".

The AIIA also notes that the US government is likely to seek the elimination of the 'national interest' criteria applied by the Foreign Investment Review Board, but offers no opinion on whether or not such moves should be opposed.

The question of Customs duties on digital products is also raised, and the draft describes as "reasonable" the US stance that Australia should "not apply customs duties in connection with digital products or unjustifiably discriminate among products delivered electronically".

Indeed, the overall tone of the draft is one of reaction to positions taken by the US government and industry bodies rather than an agenda to help the local industry overcome the trade imbalance.

The draft submission does provide however some specific recommendations, such as a suggestion that "any agreement should at least provide senior managers and technical specialists the ability to travel to the US for short-term or long-term temporary business visits" in order to benefit companies that seek to pursue business across the Pacific.