Economic Relations Between the Australia and European Union: Law and Policy

The European Union (EU) is the largest economic partner of Australia: the EU is Australia’s second largest trading partner and the EU is Australia’s largest investment partner. Yet, the EU remains the only major trading and investment partner with whom Australia does not have an Economic Integration Agreement, either in force or under negotiation. Without one, the legal and policy systems that regulate trade and investment between Australia and the EU must function in the complexity of different levels of political economy: non-unitary internal and external market constitutions against bilateral sectoral and multilateral general agreements on trade and investment.

This book is the first to present a monographic study of the law and policy of trade and investment between Australia and the EU. Prof. Gonzalo Villalta Puig argues that a trade and investment agreement is necessary to remove the agricultural tariffs and quarantine requirements and to harmonize the regulatory divergences that bar bilateral trade. It is further necessary to facilitate and guarantee two-way investment.

The book critically discusses:

• the Partnership Framework Agreement between Australia and the EU;
• the Mutual Recognition Agreement, Wine Agreement, and other sectoral agreements between Australia and the EU;
• the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Policy Reviews of Australia and the EU and disputes between them;