National taxpayers unions free trade initiative là gì năm 2024

I appreciate the opportunity to submit these comments on behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), a non-partisan citizen group founded in 1969 to work for less burdensome taxes, more efficient, accountable government, and stronger rights for all taxpayers. More about our work as a non-profit grassroots organization is available at www.ntu.org.

Trade preference programs like the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) encourage mutually beneficial transactions between Americans and our trading partners. As an organization dedicated to the rights of taxpayers, NTU supports GSP as an alternative to costly foreign aid programs.

NTU encourages reauthorization of GSP. We also urge Congress to improve the program to better promote U.S. interests.

From 2015 to 2020, roughly 90 percent of U.S. imports from GSP countries were not eligible for GSP. Congress should expand GSP so more products from participating countries are covered.

At the hearing, Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) asked about including U.S. content as part of each country’s rule-of–origin calculations, and perhaps increasing the threshold for GSP eligibility above 35 percent. Whatever the percentage threshold for eligibility is, GSP countries should be able to include U.S. content to meet it.

In addition, GSP countries should be able to include content from other countries that have free trade agreements with the United States or that are eligible for trade preference programs in order to meet the GSP content threshold. For example, an import from Belize would not have to have 35 percent domestic Belize content to qualify for GSP, but instead 35-percent content originating from Belize, the United States, our free trade partners, or other GSP or African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) countries. This would strengthen supply chains and increase the benefit of signing a free trade agreement with the United States.

Finally, NTU encourages you to remember that trade preference programs like GSP and AGOA are not unilateral giveaways that come at U.S. expense. They simply remove federal barriers to mutually beneficial trade. Every dollar someone earns from the opportunity to sell to Americans thanks to GSP or AGOA is a dollar that can be used to buy competitive U.S. exports or invest in our economy.

NTU encourages Congress to reauthorize GSP in the near term and to improve our trade preference programs to make them more effective in the future.

Our department recognises the First Peoples of this Nation and their ongoing cultural and spiritual connections to the lands, waters, seas, skies, and communities.

We Acknowledge First Nations Peoples as the Traditional Custodians and Lore Keepers of the oldest living culture and pay respects to their Elders past and present. We extend that respect to all First Nations Peoples.

High-quality, comprehensive free trade agreements (FTAs) play an important role in supporting global trade liberalisation and enhancing the international competitiveness of Australian exports.

FTAs can cover entire regions with multiple participants or link just two economies. Under these agreements, parties enter into legally binding commitments to open access to each other’s markets for goods, services and investment.

Australia has 18 FTAs currently in force. These include bilateral agreements with Chile, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as four plurilateral agreements, the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The CPTPP has been ratified by all original signatories (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam). On 1 February 2021, the United Kingdom (UK) formally requested accession to the CPTPP and on 16 July 2023, CPTPP Ministers signed the UK’s Accession Protocol to enable the UK to join the CPTPP. For more information, refer to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website.

On 31 May 2023, the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement entered into force. For more information, refer to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.

On 29 December 2022, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IA-ECTA) entered into force. Further information is available at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.

FTAs currently under negotiation include:

• Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement
• Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

For more information on these FTAs and outcomes for agriculture go to:

• FTAs in force
• FTAs signed (but not yet in force) or under negotiation.

Why have FTAs?

The Australian Government supports the negotiation of comprehensive FTAs that are consistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and guidelines and reinforce the multilateral trading system.

FTAs promote stronger trade and commercial ties between participating countries and open up opportunities for Australian exporters and investors to expand their business into key markets. They are particularly beneficial when they remove barriers in highly protected markets or enable Australian exporters to gain a foothold in new or expanding markets.

By facilitating access to these markets, FTAs provide significant commercial benefits to Australia’s exporters and in turn, wider economic benefits to all Australians.

Role of the department in FTAs

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) leads and coordinates FTA negotiations on behalf of the Australian Government.

The department works closely with DFAT to ensure the interests of agricultural industries are strongly represented in the development of Australian negotiating positions. The two departments also work together to consult industry on identifying market access priorities and defensive interests, and to keep industry informed of the Government’s approach to the negotiations.

The department is responsible for biosecurity and food safety measures and has a leading role in developing the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) provisions of FTAs as well as broader provisions impacting agricultural market access, agricultural tariffs, Non-Tariff Measures and sustainable agri-food systems.