Keep free trade fair

I have received the following from my union the AMWU (Australian Manufacturing Workers Union) of which I'm still a member despite not employed. 

What horrifies me the most (although I seriously doubt the Australian gov will let the American drug companies have a bar of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme -PBS- here and allow the prices to increase) is the American drug companies chucking a hissy fit and having a crisis about the way the gov here subsidises medicine for people like me. The American drug companies are on record as accusing the Australian gov during the negotiations for the initial free trade agreement signed the other year between just Australia and America solely, that the PBS was some kind of a trade barrier or some shit. 

Fuck, Australia has one of the most open economies in the fuckin world man. WTF is America accusing us of protectionism? Their closest ally to boot? Take a look at your own subsidies man, seriously. Australia has ripped the fuck out of subsidies for zonks, particularly farming. We compete in the same market place as the EU and America, all 22 (or is it 23?) million of us. We sometimes succeed. We've got to be some of the most efficient farmers in the world. Yet it's nigh impossible to break into the American market with our farming exports because of the protectionist policies of America. Despite I might add that we are the fuckin closest of allies.

OK I've drawn the picture.....

Now imagine us, we want access to the lucrative American markets. We're so efficient now that we can actually put stuff in the supermarkets over there that is competitive even with the home grown American produce protected by tariffs. A free trade agreement sounds wonderful, if it works anything like as good as the one has for ages between NZ and Australia. So what do we get in response?

The American drug companies want us to drop our PBS gov drug subsidies for their pills. Never mind that it helps people like me survive and able to afford said drugs. Never mind that our farming sector has become so efficient after gov's here (of both political persuasions) has beaten the odds and even starting to access the American economy before any free trade agreement even materialises. The drug companies simply want to use a free trade agreement to fuck me over. 

Gladly it didn't work last time. Australia said no. They're trying it on again though in this new round:

While the Trade Minister, Dr. Craig Emerson, has committed to ensuring important matters like labour rights are included in FTAs, there are still some very important matters that members should call on the Government to reject. These include:

    •    The right for corporations to sue governments over health and environment regulation. This arrangement robs national or state governments the right to pass laws protecting our water or forests, or indeed to introduce plain paper packaging of cigarettes, without facing the prospect of being sued by private companies.

    •    Changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) leading to higher prices for medicines. The changes sought come from large drug making companies seeking to protect and increase their margins on their medicines by stopping our government from subsidizing generic brands of the same medicines to make them affordable for most Australians.

    •    Increased rights for patent and copyright holders at the expense of consumers. Again these changes would mean extending patents and copyrights to disallow similar products to compete and drive down costs.

    •    Reduce Australian content in government purchasing and in audio-visual media. At a time when manufacturing needs governments of all levels in this country to be buying Australian, these changes would restrict their ability to do so as well as attack our home grown music, TV and cultural productions.

    •    Remove labelling from genetically engineered food. At a time when we should be empowering consumers through clearer labelling, especially country of origin, anything that waters down information in labelling should be rejected.

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