ABC Online: US warns Australia over FTA amendments.
US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick’s spokesman, Richard Mills, warned that Washington has the right to ensure the enabling legislation abided by the FTA terms.
“We understand that the FTA implementing legislation and amendments pose important issues in Australia, just as they did in the United States,” Mr Mills said in a statement.
The United States had chosen not to intervene in Australia “at this point”, he said.
Does by “ensure” and “intervene” mean that they can void the agreement? Or does it mean that it can contest the legislation and impose penalties? What does this mean Mr Howard?
All for an agreement that delivers, according to the Senate inquiry, $54 million annually to the economy. I said once that was a very small sum, and Telstra’s record profit ($4.1 billion) demonstrates just how little benefit the agreement brings comparatively.