Australia-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) FTA

General Guidance on Preparing Submissions

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is calling for public submissions and comments on issues relevant to an Free Trade Agreement. Stakeholder submissions will assist the Australian Government in developing priorities for the negotiations on a bilateral FTA.

Submissions can take several forms - from a short e-mail through to a lengthy analytical paper. They may build on or refer to submissions made to DFAT during, for example, joint government studies on bilateral FTAs. Authors of submissions should advise whether they authorise for their name and/or the text of their submission to be posted on the DFAT website.

In informing Australia's priorities it would be helpful if submissions identified any specific market access or other issues that affect two-way trade and investment.

In terms of goods trade, market access issues might include: tariffs; tariff rate quotas; the role of importing state trading enterprises; import licensing; technical regulations and standards; customs administration; and quarantine requirements.

In the case of services trade, stakeholder views might cover issues relating to specific tradeable services; issues relating to the recognition of qualifications and granting of licences to practise one's profession; and, business mobility issues such as provisions for people to work in the country with whom we have formalised an agreement.

Stakeholder views on the costs and benefits of removing tariffs and any other measures affecting imports of goods and services.

In the area of investment, stakeholder views might cover any measures that may impact on investment and the establishment of a commercial presence. Stakeholders may also wish to provide similar views on return investment in the Australian economy.

We would welcome stakeholder views on measures that reinforce the role of the market and in doing so enhance the security of supply of minerals, energy and food products from Australia.

On other issues, we would welcome stakeholder views on issues relating to doing business which cut across sectors, such as intellectual property, transparency of government regulations, government tendering processes, or competition policy issues related to gaining entry to markets.