Description

Australia (together with New Zealand) is one of the few Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries with which the EU does not have a comprehensive trade agreement. Australia and the EU are entering a new phase in the bilateral relationship, and the push towards a potential trade agreement has been steadily gaining momentum. This collection brings together diverse and deeply practical contributions to the forthcoming policy debate on the Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), highlighting potential points of difficulty and possible gains from the agreement. This book makes two further contributions: it adds to the body of work reappraising the contemporary Australia-EU relationship; and provides a snapshot of current issues in trade policy-the 'new trade agenda'-which is more complex and politically visible than ever. The issues confronting Australia and the EU in forthcoming negotiations are those confronting policy makers around the globe. They are testing public tolerance of decisions once viewed as dull and technocratic, and are redefining the academic treatment of trade policy.