ACTU admonishes Australia-United Arab Emirates trade agreement

Citing concerns over the gulf state’s abysmal record on workers’ rights, the peak union body slammed the trade agreement which grants the UAE preferential access to Australia’s exports.

ACTU president Michele O'Neil says ‘the UAE ranks among the worst countries in the world for workers’ rights’. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The ACTU has slammed a trade deal struck by the Albanese government and the United Arab Emirates, citing the Gulf state’s abuse of workers, as Labor heralded the agreement’s potential to drive billions of dollars in investment into Australia’s burgeoning critical minerals industry.

Under the pact, announced by Trade Minister Don Farrell on Tuesday, the UAE will axe tariffs on more than 99 per cent of Australian goods including meats, metals and seeds, with local exporters expected to reap almost $700m in new sales.

In a rare split with Labor, the ACTU slammed the agreement, admonishing the government for granting preferential trade access to the UAE given its abysmal record on workers’ and human rights.

“The UAE ranks among the worst countries in the world for workers’ rights and would be one of the most repressive countries any Australian government has ever done a bilateral trade agreement with,” ACTU president Michele O’Neil said. “We have expressed our opposition to Australia doing a deal with the UAE without strong and enforceable ­labour rights.

“The text of the agreement has not been released and we are concerned the government has announced its intention to sign the agreement without public scrutiny of the commitments it contains.”

In July, ACTU secretary Sally McManus pressed Labor to dump the deal, telling The Australian: “regimes that violate fundamental rights should not have access to a special trading relationship with Australia”.

Despite its criticisms, Senator Farrell was hopeful the agreement – which includes a chapter on “promoting” labour rights – would receive the union movement’s support. “Our job is to get new trade agreements because what we know is that trade is good for businesses, obviously, but it’s also good for workers,” Senator Farrell said in Canberra on Sunday.

“In particular, the access to the UAE sovereign wealth fund, which comes along with this agreement, will be very good for the government’s Future Made in Australia program.”

Business groups praised Labor’s move to bolster trade ties with the Middle Eastern economy.

“It is particularly positive that this deal has been made during a period of heightened global tensions and economic uncertainty, which signals that these types of deals can still be made,” Ai Group chief Innes Willox said.

The UAE is Australia’s largest trading partner in the Middle East, with two-way trade in goods and services worth $9.9bn last year. Investment was valued at $20.6bn between the two economies.

With the Gulf state among a host of nations clamouring for access to critical minerals and rare earths to assist in its decarbonisation efforts, the negotiated package includes a framework to encourage two-way investment in the mining sector.

Underlining its emissions reduction efforts, the UAE last year launched a $US30bn climate-­focused investment vehicle to dispense funds to assist energy systems transition away from fossil fuels.

Senator Farrell was confident those funds could be married with Australia’s abundant critical mineral supplies via the agreement.

“There’s almost an imprimatur by both governments that investment is welcome, and I’m absolutely certain because of the interest in the critical mineral space … that we will get lots and lots of extra investments,” he said.

The agreement is expected to result in tariff savings for Australian exporters of $135m in its first year, reaching $160m once fully implemented.

Australia’s alumina exporters are expected to be among the major beneficiaries of the deal, with $72m in tariff savings expected from the $1bn trade.

Tariffs on sheep meat will also be axed, saving $2.5m, which Senator Farrell said would offset some of the losses of Labor’s phase-out of the live sheep export trade.

The deal is expected to formally take effect later this year.