“Labor’s hard-line decision to scrap Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in free trade agreements is further evidence that the unions are controlling the Government,” Kevin Hogan, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism said today.
“The unions are anti-trade and anti-business so putting them in charge of trade policy is a recipe for bad policy outcomes.”
The comments follow the recent announcement by the Minister for Trade and Tourism that Labor will not enter free trade agreements with ISDS clauses and will seek to renegotiate agreements that currently have them.
“When the unions dictated Labor’s trade policy under the Gillard Government, we saw negotiations on free trade agreements, such as the deal with the Republic of Korea come to a stand-still.
“It took a change of government and the Coalition’s understanding of business to get the FTA with the Republic of Korea completed.
“The facts are that ISDS clauses in Australia’s trade and investment agreements have supported the interests of Australian investors in foreign countries.
“There have been twelve instances where Australia companies have brought a claim to protect their investments from being taken over by foreign governments.
“The respondents in these cases included PNG, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Gambia, Timor-Leste, Uganda, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
“In contrast, an ISDS clause has been tested against Australia only once in 30 years and Australia won the case.
“Without ISDS provisions ten of Australia’s sixteen free trade agreements would never have been done and the economic opportunities would never have been realised,” Mr Hogan said.
