The UK-Australia Agreement was signed in December 2021 and is currently undergoing parliamentary scrutiny ahead of ratification by the UK.
Prior to the Australia deal, the UK concluded a set of trade ‘roll over’ agreements that sought to replicate EU trade agreements with the rest of the world, to which the UK had previously been a party as a member of the EU.
Research-informed insights from Dr Joshua Paine and Professor Albert Sanchez-Graells helped the Committee clarify the implications of the UK-Australia FTA in areas related to their expertise.
On the issue of investment, Dr Paine submitted written evidence to the Committee’s inquiry which was published in the Law School’s Research Paper Series.
Dr Paine’s research highlights that while the UK–Australia FTA’s investment chapter is clearly based on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) - which the UK has applied to join and which Australia is a Party to - there are some significant departures from CPTPP.
For example, the UK-Australia FTA:
- introduces additional requirements for a legal entity to qualify as protected investor
- extends investment liberalisation obligations further than CPTPP
- applies the general exceptions provisions incorporated into the wider Agreement to the entire investment chapter, unlike CPTPP.
Dr Paine's evidence helped the Committee understand how the FTA’s investment chapter compares to CPTPP and other recent trade and investment agreements.
Dr Joshua Paine said: "I am happy to see that my evidence was useful to the Committee in its analysis of the investment chapter of the UK–Australia FTA. Major developments are happening at pace in UK trade and investment policy given the numerous negotiations for new or updated trade agreements that the UK is engaged in."
On the issue of procurement, Professor Sanchez-Graells gave oral and written evidence to the Committee.
Like Dr Paine, Professor Sanchez-Graells also analysed the interaction between the UK’s and Australia’s obligations under the CPTPP and the UK–Australia FTA – additionally he analysed the interaction with the World Trade Organisation Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA, to which both States are members).
Professor Sanchez-Graells' research concentrated on the risks of infringement of international obligations where the FTA and CPTPP deviate from the previously engaged obligations of the WTO GPA.
His blog 'Why is entering into multiple procurement-related free trade agreements problematic?' is based on a forthcoming article arising from his evidence in Legal Issues of Economic Integration. The article looks at what regulatory strategy is needed to simplify procurement liberalisation and increase legal certainty in trade.