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'Back door' US entry denials
2 Jul 2004
One of the negotiators for the US-Australia free trade agreement has emphatically denied the deal will mean changes in how quarantine decisions are made in Australia. Virginia Greville, adviser to the Department of Agriculture, said fears about the FTA allowing the US to gain a "back door" entry to Australia and bypass existing quarantine arrangements are not justified. It is untrue that the FTA will allow the US to re-open discussions on import risk analyses.
Ms Greville's comments came after the Australian Chicken Meat Federation claimed the FTA could result in IRAs being re-opened. Ms Greville said another country could only re-open an IRA if it had new and conclusive evidence to justify the move.
Ms Greville also stated that the US does not like Australia's quarantine standards, which means US exporters tend to assume the measures are not scientifically based - which is not the case.
The Land, 1/7/04.
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