I had the privilege of representing the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) and Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) at the "Trade Negotiations and Implementation Meeting of Peak Organisations" hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT) in Canberra on Friday 28 April 2017.
The meeting was chaired by DFAT's Deputy Secretary, Justin Brown and featured updates from DFAT executives outlining progress and challenges of Bilateral (Indonesia, India), Regional (RCEP, PACER Plus, GCC) and Plurilateral (Trade in Service Agreement - TiSA, Information Technology Agreement, Environmental Goods Agreement, WTO Government Procurement Agreement) negotiations - many of the issues are outlined in the recent update provided by Hunt & Hunt Lawyers ... read more
FUTURE NEGOTIATIONS
Future negotiations including the EU, UK and Hong Kong were discussed along with an update on Free Trade Agreement implementation / compliance, WTO dispute settlement, investment issues, G20 and APEC.EU - Minister Ciobo announced on 7 April 2017 the conclusion of the FTA / EU scoping exercise conducted by DFAT and and the Commission's Trade Directorate - there is an expectation of a formal announcement of negotiations in the second half of 2017.UK - a clear interest exists in a bilateral arrangement hwoever this will be delayed by a two year period from 29 March 2017 before the UK formally exits the EU. Working groups have commenced.Hong Kong - Minister Ciobo on 24 April 2017 announced details of bilateral negotiations and a call for public submissions ... read more
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