Defining the relationship between Australia and the European Union: is the framework treaty enough?

Abstract

Australia is currently negotiating a framework treaty with the European Union (EU) that aims at closer cooperation on a wide range of shared policy goals. The treaty is not expected to include trade-liberalisation commitments. This article queries why this is, given the importance of trade and business relations with the EU for Australia, and the fact that the EU exerts international influence primarily as a trade power, rather than a foreign and security policy power. Since 2006, the EU has also been negotiating ‘new-generation’ bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), focusing on tariffs and regulatory non-tariff trade barriers. It has now committed itself to FTA negotiations with many of Australia's trade partners in Asia and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. An FTA and a complementary framework treaty were concluded with South Korea in 2010, and the EU is currently negotiating a similar package with Canada. As Australia and Canada are comparable trade partners for the EU, the article argues that an FTA on the EU–Canada model could be a more effective avenue for Australia to achieve deeper engagement with the EU.

澳大利亚正与欧盟谈判一项框架性条约，目的是就广泛的共同目标进行更密切的合作。条约不打算包含贸易自由化承诺。本文探讨了何以会如此，因为贸易和商业关系的重要性对于欧盟和澳大利亚都是显而易见，而且欧盟的国际影响主要在贸易而不在外交和安全。2006年以来，欧盟也在谈判“新一代”双边自由贸易协议（FTA），重点在关税以及管制性非关税贸易壁垒。欧盟已在与亚洲及经合组织内澳大利亚的许多贸易伙伴进行FTA谈判。2010年与南韩完成了一项FTA及补充性框架条约，现在正与加拿大进行同样的谈判。对于欧盟来说，澳大利亚与加拿大情况类似，因此作者认为，欧盟与加拿大的FTA协议会为澳大利亚与欧盟更深入的关系提供有效的路径。

Keywords:

• Australia
• bilateral relations
• European Union
• free trade agreement

Notes

1. The problem with the GATT rules prior to the Uruguay Round negotiations was twofold: (1) the Article XVI (3) disciplines on agricultural export subsidies applied only if they resulted in ‘more than an equitable share of world trade’ being obtained, which proved difficult to implement, and (2) the ‘tariffs only’ rule of Article II on imports was sidestepped by a ‘waiver’ for the USA which permitted the use of import quotas, the use of ‘variable import levies’ by the EU (which remained sub judice in the GATT from the 1960s), and the imposition of ‘voluntary restraints’ on imports by Japan, South Korea and the USA. These problems were dealt with in the Uruguay Round agreement on agriculture through the imposition of specific limits on the use of export subsidies and by the USA, EU, Japan, South Korea and others giving up their exceptions to the ‘tariffs only’ rule of the GATT. The outcome of these negotiations became the de facto new, stronger rules on agriculture.

2. The 2010 TEU is the revised and consolidated version of the 2007 TEU. Article 21 was Article 10A in the 2007 TEU.