It is shaping up as the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) all over again, but this time on a much larger and deleterious scale.
Back in 2004, then trade minister under the Howard Government, Mark Vaile, signed the AUSFTA, which saw a subs-standard deal signed for political reasons that included the the extension of patent and copyright terms, thus lessening competition and increasing costs for Australian consumers of pharmaceutical and copyrighted product.
