Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) - a business guide
Chapter 8: Anti-competitive practices and intellectual property rights
Competition policy
SAFTA includes important outcomes on competition policy, which encourage strengthening and development of the competition regime in Singapore, and allows Australia to address specific anti-competitive business practices. Both the Australian and Singapore Governments commit themselves to consult with each other upon request in relation to anti-competitive practices of particular concern. They also undertake to ensure that government-owned businesses will be subject to competitive neutrality disciplines, meaning that both countries will take reasonable measures to ensure that governments at all levels do not provide any competitive advantage to government-owned businesses simply because they are government-owned. This will help improve conditions for Australian companies seeking to enter and expand in the Singapore market in circumstances where a number of the incumbents are government-linked corporations with a dominant market position.
Singapore has only recently commenced the process of developing a general competition regime. However, it has specific competition regulations governing the telecommunications, finance and power sectors. The competition policy provisions of SAFTA will be reviewed to consider extending them when Singapore enacts a generic competition law.
Intellectual property
As well as confirming their WTO commitments on intellectual property protection, Australia and Singapore agree to cooperate on eliminating trade in goods infringing intellectual property rights, including by exchanging information. They also agree to take measures to prevent the export of goods that infringe copyright or trademarks on receipt of information or complaints.
As part of SAFTA, Australian and Singapore have also committed to protecting intellectual property and confidential information supplied in government procurement tender processes.
Table of contents - Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) - a business guide