• Australian exporters have greater opportunities to
  understand and meet US requirements dealing with technical
  regulations and standards.
• Requirements for food and manufactured goods, such as
  labelling, packaging, testing and certification that products
  conform to regulations, are covered.
• A framework for exporters to work with government in
  tackling barriers has been established.

Summary

The AUSFTA builds on existing rights and obligations under
the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.

A mechanism to address issues raised by either Party related
to the development, adoption, application or enforcement of
standards, technical regulations or conformity assessment
procedures has been established.

Gains for Australia

In Australia, technical regulations for food and
manufactured goods are co-ordinated between the Commonwealth
and State and Territory Governments. In the US, standard
setting bodies are far more numerous and operate in
governmental and private spheres and at federal and sub-federal
levels.

A better understanding of respective technical regulations
and standards should lead to reduced production costs for
exports of food and manufactures. In turn, the savings can be
passed on to consumers and allow for greater choice of products
without diminishing their safety or reliability.