CANBERRA, Australia – Australian farm leaders are concerned about how the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas will hit pocketbooks in their country.
They fear losing a number of important global farm trade liberalization allies – who are also farm trade competitors – to the bloc.
Australian beef producers are concerned that Uruguayan and Argentine producers will secure more access to the lucrative Canadian and American beef quotas.
The area also includes key markets for Australian wool and wool products, such as the United States, Mexico and Canada, and major wool exporters such as Uruguay and
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Argentina.
Sugar producers worry that Brazil, the world’s largest sugar producer, would gain a larger share of the U.S. market at Australia’s expense.
The Australians see the proposed FTAA grouping as much more threatening to their interests than the North American Free Trade Agreement.
This has been borne out indirectly by a recent foreign affairs and trade department study that found little evidence that Australia’s competitive position in the NAFTA market had been eroded since the pact began in 1994.
“Where there have been decreases in exports of individual products, market forces – such as changes in demand and supply, exchange rates and world prices – rather than NAFTA, seem to have been responsible.”
But the study said a hemispheric-wide trade bloc could have significant consequences for the Australian economy.
The National Farmers’ Federation said it was concerned the trade deal would create an exclusive club that would restrict Australia’s access into important markets.
“What we need to know is whether agriculture is going to be fully included, because if agriculture is included it will force adjustment on U.S. farmers,” he said.
“And the protection that U.S. farmers are getting is really the politics of the farm states of the U.S., where there are a lot of inefficient small farmers. We need to see change there in order to get change multilaterally in the (World Trade Organization).”
The prospect of the FTAA is expected to strengthen the Australian government’s push for agreement on a U.S.-Australia free trade deal later this year.
