The submission is the result of canvassing members' opinions of the issues that should be addressed, but any agreement will be the result of "a two-and-a-half year process, and it would be very unwise for us... to put all our cards on the table right now," he said.
"This will be a very fluid process," added McAdam. AIIA's position on industry development programs, for example, could depend on how much greater access to government procurement the US delegation is prepared to concede. "We'll tweak our proposals," he said.
The first set of negotiations will take place next month, when a US delegation visits Australia. McAdam expects DFAT will call for further submissions after those talks, and said the AIIA would expect to refine its position accordingly.
AIIA has identifies several key areas that should be addressed. Government procurement is a very large market in the US, but the Buy American Act currently shuts our businesses out of federal agencies. The Association has yet to decide whether the concessions required to gain access to that market would result in a net benefit to the Australian industry.
A declared goal is to ensure that senior managers and technical specialists should be able to enter the US for long or short visits in pursuit of trade. Capital flows are also likely to be addressed, as each country is seeking equivalent treatment to domestic investors in the other nation.
While AIIA sees Australia's intellectual property legislation as broadly acceptable and consistent with international principles, the US is concerned that our laws are not stringent enough. According to the submission, "AIIA believes that an FTA should provide for a consistent, cooperative and adequately resourced enforcement regime".
Moves to improve e-commerce between the countries (such as non-discriminatory duties on products delivered electronically) are supported by AIIA, and it also urges the Australian government to commit to the World Trade Organisation agreement on database services.
While telecommunications is likely to be on the agenda, AIIA believes the emphasis should be on access to new markets and so commercial issues such as Internet access rates should not be negotiated as part of the FTA.
Instead of kissing up to the Americans, we should be introducting legislation to force all government agencies to "Buy Australian", instead of sending our money overseas. This country needs to become a little more patriotic and focus more on what we can do to bolster our own economy without relying on overseas markets.