Customs Amendment (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation) Bill 2018

The majority voted against an amendment moved by Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick be agreed to.

Senator Patrick explained that:

The objective of this amendment is to prevent the enabling legislation commencing until bilateral side letters have been exchanged between Australia and each other party to the agreement, agreeing, firstly, that chapter 9 of the agreement, which deals with investor-state disputes, does not apply in relation to an investment in Australia, and, secondly, that labour market testing must occur in relation to contractual service suppliers entering, or proposing to enter, Australia from the other party. Centre Alliance is of the view that these issues need to be addressed before the TPP comes into force, not after.

What do these bills do?

The bill was introduced along with another to implement the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP-11). Their basic purpose is to implement the customs dimensions of the TPP-11 Agreement by making relevant amendments to the Customs Act 1901 and the Customs Tariff Act 1995. Read more in the bills digest.

Amendment text

(1) Clause 2, page 2 (cell at table item 2, column 2), omit the cell, substitute:

If the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, done at Santiago, Chile on 8 March 2018, enters into force for Australia—the first day that:

(a) bilateral side letters exchanged between Australia and each other party to the Agreement agreeing that Chapter 9 of the Agreement, which deals with investor-State disputes, does not apply in relation to an investment in Australia by an investor of the other party; and

(b) bilateral side letters exchanged between Australia and each other party to the Agreement agreeing that labour market testing must occur in relation to contractual service suppliers entering, or proposing to enter, Australia from the other Party;

are in force for Australia.

However, the provisions do not commence at all unless all of the events mentioned in this item occur.