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Two weeks to seal FTA
16 Jan 2004
A free trade agreement with the US must be concluded within two weeks or the chance to seal the $A4 billion-a-year deal will be lost, according to Trade Minister Mark Vaile. If it's missed it could be 20 years before the climate is right for another attempt, he said.
Negotiators will head to the US this weekend to start final talks. The key sticking points include Australian access to US beef, sugar and dairy products markets.
Australia's chief negotiator Stephen Deady said the focus of next week's meetings will be US market access for Australian agriculture. Mr Vaile said there would be no deal from Australia if the US won't agree to greater access in the sugar market.
The Greens claimed there's growing opposition to an FTA and Australia should withdraw from negotiations. They stated that a lack of opportunities will be the legacy of any free trade deal with the US.
The Daily Telegraph, 16/1/04, page 2.
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