Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement

SERVICES

• The AUSFTA facilitates access to US markets for Australian service suppliers such as providers of professional, business, education, environmental, financial and transport services.
• The Agreement also includes a framework to promote mutual recognition of professional services.

Summary

The services chapter of the Agreement establishes legal protections to facilitate Australia’s services exports to the United States - principally through US commitments to grant market access and to not discriminate, as well as through provisions on the transparency and development of regulations relevant to services trade.

If, for example, a law is passed in the United States to treat American education or legal service providers better than foreigners, Australian companies would have the right to be treated the same as US companies.  

The Agreement contains commitments that go beyond those made by Australia and the US in the WTO, in a wide range of sectors, including educational, financial and professional services.  The AUSFTA automatically makes future unilateral liberalisation of many measures a binding part of the Agreement.

The services chapter also established a Working Group on Professional Services to facilitate profession-led initiatives to achieve the mutual recognition of professional qualifications and registration.