ANU - CRAWFORD SCHOOL of Economics and Government

Important Information

Economics & Practicalities of Free Trade Negotiations

Course Available by Arrangement Only. Group Discounts are available.

A 10 DAY COURSE AVAILABLE BY CORPORATE ARRANGEMENT

Course Aims

The 2005 implementation of a Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United States brought discussions on trade liberalization to the forefront. The agreement proved controversial but very little of the debate examined the content of the agreement, or Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

The course provides an introduction to the economies of trade liberalization and the practical aspects of trade negotiation at both a bilateral and multilateral level by examining the content of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). It will address the nature of FTAs, how one is successfully negotiated and implemented, how FTAs are negotiated at a bilateral and multilateral level and how they are implemented. It will also look at how economies of different sizes and strength bargain with one another. Participants will acquire a comprehensive understanding of the basic principles and economics of trade liberalisation and free trade negotiation.

Of Relevance to

Public sector officers from most government departments will find this course extremely beneficial. These include, Officers from the Ministry of Trade, AQIS, Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, Education, Transport, Telecommunications, and Health, who will find that the course equips them with a broad understanding of Free Trade Agreements within a short period of time. Executives and Staff from the private sector, to whom Free Trade Agreements are a relatively new concept, will also enjoy the same outcomes.

Course Content

The course will cover topics such as the economics of trade liberalisation, comparative advantage, trade and investment services, competition policy, intellectual property, labour laws, rules of origin, as well as case studies on Free Trade Agreements between Australia and the US, Australia and Thailand, and the planned regional trade blocs between Australia and several South East Asian Countries.

Convener & Key Presenters

Malcolm Bosworth is a senior research fellow at ANU. He is a former Director of the Trade Policy Research Unit of the Industry Commission in Canberra. Malcolm is also a GATT/WTO specialist, having worked as a Trade Policy Analyst with the GATT Secretariat in Geneva.

Dr ChunLai Chen holds a masters degree from Harvard and a PhD in economics from Adelaide University and has been a consultant to the World Bank and OECD.

Dr David Vanzetti is an agricultural economist and director of Eco Landuse Systems. He has been a consultant to the FAO in Rome and to the Danish Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Economics (SJFI).

Dr David Vanzetti, Visiting Fellow at ANU, is a director of Eco Landuse Systems. He is an agricultural economist who has served with the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) in Canberra, as a consultant with FAO in Rome and with the Danish Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Economics (SJFI). David has worked in research and teaching with several Universities in Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands. And with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva. David?s work has included farm investment analysis, applications of game theory to the international wheat market, trade policy analysis of the Uruguay Round, South African trade sanctions, regional trading arrangements, desert locust control, climate change, trade and environment policies, hides and skins, coffee, bananas, and food security issues. David is currently working with UNCTAD and FAO on agricultural and industrial trade negotiations.