US Free Trade good for Australian IT
US Free Trade good for Australian IT
The Australian Computer Society has embraced the new Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the US, because they believe that this will benefit the Information and Communications Technology industry in Australia.
ACS President, Edward Mandla said the ICT sector has been a real winner by gaining its first real access to US government markets: "Most Australian would be surprised to learn that US Federal practice has been to only give government contracts to American firms. Coupled with commitments ensuring non-discrimination against Australia service suppliers, this will open up access for our ICT firms to this very strategic and lucrative market.
"I am particularly pleased to see mutual recognition of qualifications in professional services. This should promote export of Australian ICT services and give the ACS opportunities in accreditation and promoting recognition of ACS membership in the US."
Mandla has also welcomed the inclusion of Australia' Intellectual Property laws being harmonised with those in the US, saying that ICT Intellectual Property is a future source of exports: "The ACS has long been concerned about Australia's burgeoning ICT trade deficit, and the FTA has the potential to enable us to start addressing the imbalance in this critical growth sector.
"While this agreement still has to be ratified by both the US Congress and the Australian government, we believe it contains a number of measures that will benefit our ICT sector and look forward to a detailed briefing from the government in the near future."
In terms of the e-commerce provision, the Australian Information Industry Association was keen to ensure that no greater barriers were created for electronic trade and products were treated equally, regardless of the media on which they were carried.
AIIA Chief Executive, Rob Durie said: "While the final text will provide far greater clarity for the ICT industry, the information we have received today indicates that many of the industry's key concerns are reflected in the Australia US FTA."
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