Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to appear before Treaties Committee

THE Joint Standing Committee on Treaties will today hear from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (the Chamber) as part of the Committee’s inquiry into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

RCEP is a regional free trade agreement between Australia and the countries of ASEAN, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand.

Committee chair Dave Sharma MP said, "This hearing gives the committee an opportunity to explore the impact of RCEP on Australian business. The Chamber has told the committee that it believes that the value of RCEP for Australia is in strategically redirecting trade and economic ties towards regional relationships within the Asia-Pacific."

The committee will also discuss the Chamber’s concerns about the overlap between trade agreements, rule of origin arrangements, and the lack of independent economic analysis of RCEP’s impacts.

The committee anticipates conducting further hearings on RCEP in other parts of the country. Public hearing programs will be made available of the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Monday 21 June 2021
Time: 11.10am – 11.55am AEST
Location: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House

Access to the public hearing is restricted as a pandemic control measure. The hearing can be accessed online.

Further information on the inquiry can be found on the inquiry website.

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