Australia's participation in Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Negotiations
Overview
On 20 November 2008 in the margins of the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Lima, Peru, the Trade Minister, Mr Crean, announced that Australia will participate in negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). The TPP will expand on the current Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement between Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore, which entered into force in 2006. The United States, Peru and Vietnam will also participate in the TPP negotiations.
Australia will host the first formal round of negotiations in Melbourne on 15-19 March 2010.
Australia's decision to participate in the TPP was taken in the context of an initial public consultation process. On 3 October 2008, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, via its website, called for public submissions from interested stakeholders on the expected costs and benefits of participation and specifically invited comment on the economic, regional, social, cultural, regulatory and environmental impacts expected to arise from Australia's participation.
Overall, there was widespread interest in and support for Australia's participation in the TPP. Input received through the consultation process is being used to inform the Government's priorities and objectives for Australia's initial work on the TPP. The Government is committed to ongoing consultations with stakeholders throughout negotiations on the TPP. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will engage interested stakeholders in further consultations following the first round of negotiations.
Public submissions
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continues to welcome public submissions and comments on Australia's participation in TPP negotiations. Submissions may be emailed to tpp@dfat.gov.au or posted to:
Trade Commitments Branch
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
R.G. Casey Building
John McEwen Crescent
Barton ACT 0221
All submissions will be made publicly available on the DFAT website unless the author specifies otherwise.
Submission Texts
Submissions have been received from a wide range of interested parties including industry, business, community and labour representatives and government agencies.
Organisations Listed
Some organisations/entities have provided permission to be listed publicly as having made a submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Australia's participation in the TPP.
Where an organisation/entity has agreed to have their submission made available, a link to the text of their submission appears next to their name.
Copyright and Content
Copyright in submissions resides with the author(s), not with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The views expressed in these submissions are the views of the author(s) and should not be understood as reflecting the views of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Format
Submissions were provided to the Department in a range of formats with varying quality, including Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF and scanned facsimile.
To maintain consistent quality, those documents approved for publication have been made available in PDF format wherever possible.
Submissions received
Submissions have been received with permission for publication from the following organisations and persons:
- ABB Grain Ltd [PDF 67 Kb]
- Alisha Dahlstrom, Postgraduate Research Student NCMCRS, University of Tasmania [PDF 154 Kb]
- American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AMCHAM) [PDF 47KB]
- Australian Dairy Industry Council Inc. [TIFF 43 Kb]
- Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network [PDF 104 Kb]
- Australian Industry Group [PDF 27 Kb]
- Australian Pork Ltd [PDF 208 Kb]
- Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) [PDF 96KB]
- Australian Sugar Industry Alliance Ltd [PDF 22 Kb]
- Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) [PDF 17 Kb]
- Dr Ann Capling, Professor of Political Science, Melbourne University [PDF 109 Kb]
- Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union of Australia [ZIP/PDF 186 Kb]
- Investment and Financial Services Association Ltd [PDF 81 Kb]
- Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance [PDF, 85 Kb)
- Minerals Council of Australia [PDF 339 Kb]
- Music Council of Australia [PDF 44 Kb]
- Screen Producers Association of Australia [PDF 13 Kb]
Note: If you cannot access these PDF and TIFF files, please contact us and we will arrange to send you an alternative format.
Media Releases & Speeches
- 14 November, 2009, Media release: The Trans-Pacific Partnership – Moving Forward, Minister for Trade
- 26 November 20o8, Ministerial Statement, The Trans Pacific Partnership: Australia to join efforts to promote free trade in the Asia Pacific
- 21 November, 2008, APEC Ministers Build on G20 Leaders' Momentum