It has now been a number of years since the Australia United States Free Trade Agreement was singed. At the time when negotiations were being carried out, the Australian government tried to make the deal behind the back of the Australian people.
The US is keen to have the PBS removed as far as possible, in order to assist American pharmaceutical companies to export drugs to Australia. The existence of cheaper generic brands is regarded as a barrier to free competition. Another principal if the agreement is that government intervention in the market should be reduced.
Another place where the effect has been considerable is in regard to local content in the electronic media. While on paper there remains a degree of local content regulation, although this has been watered down considerably and remains only temporary, there is no local content for new technologies. It does not apply to new digital TV channels. A similar thing will happen with radio. Government support across the arts is in question. What we are already getting is a wholesale Americanisation of Australian culture a
This is only the tip of the iceberg. Australia is due to make further concessions on a broad range of fronts. The United States will soon raise the pressure on the Australian government to deliver.
