Labor’s national conference has supported proposed changes to the party’s policy platform with regard to free-trade agreements. Amongst other things, Labor will require a preliminary national interest assessment to be undertaken when negotiations for a free-trade deal commence, while unions, industry and community groups will be given greater input into trade deals. Labor also intends to ban free-trade deals that waive labour-market testing requirements or include Investor State Dispute Settlement provisions. From The Australian:
Under the Labor plan, a full-time negotiating team would be established within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to negotiate the removal of ISDS clauses and the reinstatement of labour-market testing where it has been waived in existing free-trade agreements.
