Inquiry into Aspects of the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement revisited
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union represents over 70,000 workers who create, make and maintain. Our members work in trade exposed industries around the country and they have felt the impact of trade deals that have sent entire industries and thousands of Australian jobs overseas. We remain committed to ensuring that any trade deals entered into by Australia strengthen our economy, improve labour standards at home and abroad, and deliver tangible benefits to Australian workers, their families and their communities.
The AMWU reiterates our opposition to Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clauses being agreed to by the Australian government in any trade agreement and support their removal as soon as practical. These clauses undermine our democratic institutions and weaken the ability of the government to make policy in the best interests of all Australians.
The AMWU supports the submissions made to this inquiry by the ACTU and AFTINET. For more detail on the AMWU’s views on the principles that should underpin trade and on the problems cause by ISDS clauses, I refer the committee to our submission to the recent Senate inquiry into the TPP-11 (attached).
I thank the Committee for the opportunity to make this submission.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Bastian
National Secretary