For Your Information

American-Australian Free Trade Agreement

Australia, the only other country in the world besides Britain assisting in the aggression against Iraq with military troops, is in the process of negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Americans.

The first round of talks towards the deal concluded last week in Canberra, with the next round scheduled for Washington in May.

There are 15 separate negotiating groups, covering everything from agriculture to industrial products to financial services and investment. Groups also cover areas such as the environment, labour standards and trade barriers.

While there are reported to be some strong disagreements on agriculture, both sides hailed the first talks as an overwhelming success. Chief U.S. negotiator Richard Ives told journalists: "We have certainly laid a very solid foundation for developing a really world-class free trade agreement."

His Australian counterpart Stephen Deady said the countries shared a "strong common preparedness to work hard for a strong comprehensive and generally liberalizing agreement."