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The Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSTA)
26.10.2006 14:49
OCEANIA
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Abstract This paper looks at the way in which the US is using free trade and war in the development of it empire. I highlight the way in which John Howard and George W. Bush have locked together free trade agreements and war through the US, UK and Australian alliance in Iraq. I argue that free trade agreements are deeply rooted in the structural violence of globalisation, including the possibility of endless war. I examine the ways in which women in particular are negatively affected by free trade agreements, and suggest that fundamentalism is an integral part of the operation of globalisation and free trade. I conclude that the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement leaves Australia as a party to aggression in an agreement that will not benefit the Australian people, especially women, Indigenous peoples and the poor.
Free Trade and War in the Creation of the New American Empire The link between war and free trade agreements is apparent in the latest round of events occurring since the beginning of 2003. In the context of Australia this is exemplified in the connection between the proposed Australia United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) and John Howard's commitment to the war in Iraq. In the aftermath of the war in Iraq there have been pronouncements about the possibility of free trade zones in Iraq. Such occurrences are not an accident of history, but rather an integral part of the project of capitalist globalisation.
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