Negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement between Australia and India

Submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Prepared by Lynn Gailey
September 6, 2011

In this submission, the Music Council reiterates its position that culture should be excluded from free trade agreements, where it is vulnerable to be traded off to cultural disadvantage in favour of non-cultural benefits. The MCA makes extensive reference to Australia’s commitments under the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, to which it is a signatory.

In the particular case of India, the submission points to the fact that the Indian cultural sector is highly successful financially and is independent of any government support. In Australia, by contrast, parts of the cultural sector are highly dependent upon government support by regulation or funding and in some cases could not exist without it. While there is no present intimation that India would wish to dismantle these arrangements, the submission notes that the Indian government may not appreciate the fundamental differences in our situations and may at some point seek to remove any barriers to total market access. Australia should ensure that it retains total cultural sovereignty as it did, for instance, in the terms of its agreement with Singapore.

Read the Submission.