1. The Parties acknowledge that trade involving production, consumption, and transportation of goods across air, sea and land can cause air pollution and that air pollution can travel long distances. To this end, the Parties recognise that bilateral cooperation can be beneficial in reducing such air pollution.
2. The Parties recognise the importance of public consultation, in accordance with their respective laws or policies, in the identification, development and implementation of measures to improve air quality.
3. In accordance with Article 18.18 (Cooperation Frameworks) the Parties shall cooperate, as appropriate, to address trade-related matters of mutual interest with respect to air quality.
Article 18.10. Pollution
1. The Parties emphasise the importance of protecting human health and the environment from pollution. To that end, the Parties affirm their commitment to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MARPOL Convention”), and any existing and future amendments to the MARPOL Convention to which the Parties are party, and to prevent and reduce plastic pollution and marine litter.
2. In recognition of the global nature of this challenge, the Parties recognise United Nations Environment Assembly Resolution 5/14 entitled “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument” adopted on 2 March 2022, and other relevant international agreements to which the Parties are signatories.
3. The Parties also acknowledge the importance of establishing and maintaining environmental laws and policies to prevent, control and reduce plastic pollution and marine litter.
4. The Parties also recognise the importance of public consultation, in accordance with their respective laws or policies, in the development and implementation of measures to prevent the pollution of the marine environment from ships. The Parties aim to make publicly available appropriate information about their programmes and activities, including cooperative programmes, that are related to the prevention of pollution of the marine environment from ships.
5. In accordance with Article 18.18 (Cooperation Frameworks), the Parties shall cooperate, as appropriate, to address trade-related matters of mutual interest with respect to combatting plastic pollution, marine litter and pollution of the marine environment from ships.
Article 18.11. Sustainable Water Management
1. The Parties recognise the crucial role of water in climate change adaptation and mitigation and that sustainable water management is essential for efforts towards climate resilience, social well-being and the transition to green economies.
2. The Parties shall cooperate on efforts to develop and implement water-related climate solutions, such as addressing water pollution, improving wastewater management and treatment, enhancing circular systems of reusing and recycling water, water efficiency and sustainability as well as strengthening water governance and water resources management, protecting and restoring water- associated ecosystems, and encouraging investment in sustainable water- related infrastructure.
Article 18.12. Action on Coastal Blue Carbon Ecosystems, Including Mangroves
1. The Parties recognise the importance of coastal wetlands or ‘blue carbon ecosystems’ – including mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrass – for climate change mitigation and adaptation, protection of biodiversity, including threatened species, disaster risk reduction and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
2. The Parties also recognise the importance of robust methodologies for measuring, reporting on, verification of, and managing blue carbon stocks.
3. The Parties affirm their commitment to the International Partnership for Blue Carbon and the Mangrove Alliance for Climate.
4. The Parties shall endeavour to conserve and restore blue carbon ecosystems, including through consideration of nature-based solutions for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, improving biodiversity and by drawing on traditional and Indigenous knowledge.
5. The Parties shall cooperate, as appropriate, in knowledge and best practice sharing to strengthen protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems, as well as by collaboration and capacity building through existing initiatives.
Article 18.13. Marine Wild Capture Fisheries
1. The Parties acknowledge their role as major consumers, producers and traders of fisheries products, and the importance of the marine fisheries sector to their development and to the livelihoods of their fishing communities, including artisanal or small-scale fisheries. The Parties also acknowledge that the fate of marine capture fisheries is an urgent resource problem facing the international community. Accordingly, the Parties recognise the importance of taking measures aimed at the conservation and the sustainable management of fisheries.
2. In this regard, the Parties acknowledge that inadequate fisheries management, fisheries subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (“IUU”) fishing (2) can have significant negative impacts on trade, development and the environment, and recognise the need for individual and collective action to address the problems of overfishing and unsustainable utilisation of fisheries resources.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to operate a fisheries management system, including among others those with a national or regional focus, that regulates marine wild capture fishing that is designed to:
(a) prevent overfishing and overcapacity;
(b) reduce bycatch of non-target species and juveniles, including those that may be endangered, through but not limited to the regulation of fishing gear that results in bycatch and the regulation of fishing in areas where bycatch is likely to occur; and
(c) promote the recovery of overfished stocks for all marine fisheries in which that Party’s persons conduct fishing activities.
Such fisheries management systems shall be based on the best scientific evidence available and on internationally recognised best practices for fisheries management and conservation as reflected in the relevant provisions of international instruments aimed at ensuring the sustainable use and conservation of marine species. (3)
5. Each Party shall endeavour to promote the long-term conservation of sharks, marine turtles, seabirds and marine mammals, including migratory species, through the implementation and effective enforcement of conservation and management measures. Those measures may include, as appropriate:
(a) for sharks, the collection of species-specific data, fisheries bycatch mitigation measures, catch limits, and finning prohibitions; and
(b) for marine turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals, fisheries bycatch mitigation measures, conservation and relevant management measures, prohibitions, and other measures in accordance with relevant international agreements to which the Party is party.
5. With respect to fisheries subsidies, the Parties affirm the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, and any amendments thereto, set out in the Annex to the Protocol amending the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO attached to Ministerial Decision of 17 June 2022 (“Fisheries Subsidies Agreement”).
6. For greater certainty, the affirmation made in paragraph 5 is without regard to whether the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement is in effect.
7. The Parties recognise the importance of concerted international action to address IUU fishing as reflected in regional and international instruments (4) and shall endeavour to support efforts to combat IUU fishing practices and help deter trade in products from species harvested from those practices. In this regard, the Parties shall endeavour to cooperate, as appropriate, including with and through competent international organisations.
8. Each Party shall endeavour, to the extent possible, provide the other Party with the opportunity to comment on proposed measures that are designed to prevent trade in fisheries products that result from IUU fishing.
Article 18.14. Trade and Biodiversity
1. The Parties recognise the importance of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, including marine biodiversity, and their key roles in achieving sustainable development.
2. Accordingly, each Party shall promote and encourage the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, in accordance with its law and policy.
3. The Parties recognise the impact of international trade on the health of the world’s ocean and shall endeavour to sustainably manage 100% of the ocean area within their national waters, guided by Sustainable Ocean Plans, in accordance with the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.
4. The Parties affirm their commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity done at Rio de Janeiro on 05 June 1992 by implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, done at Montreal on 19 December 2022.
5. The Parties recognise the internationally legally binding instrument, the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction done at New York on 19 June 2023 (the “BBNJ Agreement”), as a milestone for the protection of the world’s ocean and an important addition to the global rules-based order.
6. The Parties recognise the BBNJ Agreement will play an important role in achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework target to protect 30 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2030 by providing a mechanism for establishing marine protected areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
7. The Parties recognise the importance of facilitating access to genetic resources within their respective domestic jurisdictions, consistent with each Party’s international obligations. The Parties further recognise that they may require, through domestic measures, prior informed consent to access those genetic resources in accordance with their respective domestic measures and, where such access is granted, the establishment of mutually agreed terms, including with respect to sharing of benefits from the use of those genetic resources between users and providers.
8. The Parties also recognise the importance of public participation and consultation, in accordance with their respective law and policy, in the development and implementation of measures concerning the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The Parties aim to make publicly available information, as appropriate, about their programmes and activities, including cooperative programmes, related to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
9. In accordance with Article 18.18 (Cooperation Frameworks), the Parties shall cooperate, as appropriate, on trade-related matters of mutual interest.
Cooperation may include exchanging information and experiences in areas related to:
(a) monitoring the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;
(b) the protection and maintenance of ecosystems and ecosystem services, including marine ecosystems;
(c) embedding biodiversity considerations into policies, strategies, and practices of public and private actors in relevant sectors; and
(d) safeguarding wild and managed pollinators, and promoting the sustainable use of pollination services.
Article 18.15. Invasive Alien Species
1. The Parties recognise that the movement of terrestrial and aquatic invasive alien species across borders through pathways, including trade-related pathways, can adversely affect the environment, economic activities and development, and plant, animal, and human health. The Parties also recognise that the prevention, surveillance, detection, control, and, when possible, eradication, of invasive alien species are critical strategies for managing those adverse impacts.
2. Accordingly, the Parties shall endeavour to identify cooperative opportunities to share information and management experiences on the movement, prevention, detection, control, and eradication of invasive alien species, with a view to enhancing efforts to assess and address the risks and adverse impacts of invasive alien species.
Article 18.16. Conservation and Illegal Wildlife Trade
1. The Parties affirm the importance of combating the illegal take (5) of, and illegal trade in, wild fauna and flora, and acknowledge that this trade undermines efforts to conserve and sustainably manage those natural resources, has social consequences, distorts legal trade in wild fauna and flora, and reduces the economic and environmental value of these natural resources.
2. Accordingly, the Parties affirm their commitment to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora done at Washington D.C. on 3 March 1973 (“CITES”). (6)
3. The Parties agree to promote conservation and to combat the illegal take of, and illegal trade in, wild fauna and flora. To that end, the Parties shall endeavour to, consistent with their respective laws and regulations and in accordance with international agreements to which the Parties are party:
(a) combat and prevent the illegal take of, and illegal trade, in wild fauna and flora, including combating illegal logging and associated illegal trade, and promoting the legal trade in associated products;
(b) identify opportunities to enhance law enforcement, for example by creating and participating in law enforcement networks, exchanging information and experiences, and undertaking, as appropriate, joint activities on conservation issues of mutual interest, including through relevant regional and international fora; and
(c) to implement, as appropriate, CITES resolutions that aim to protect and conserve species whose survival is threatened by international trade.
4. Each Party shall endeavour to:
(a) take appropriate measures to protect and conserve wild fauna and flora that it has identified to be at risk within its territory, including measures to conserve the ecological integrity of specially protected natural areas, for example wetlands among others; and
(b) maintain or strengthen government capacity and institutional frameworks to promote sustainable forest management and wild fauna and flora conservation, and may promote public participation and transparency in these institutional frameworks.
Article 18.17. Corporate Social Responsibility
Each Party shall endeavour to encourage enterprises operating within its territory or jurisdiction, to voluntarily adopt, into their policies and practices, principles of corporate social responsibility that are related to the environment, consistent with internationally recognised standards and guidelines that have been endorsed or are supported by that Party.
Article 18.18. Cooperation Frameworks
1. The Parties recognise the importance of cooperation as a mechanism to implement this Chapter, to enhance its benefits and to strengthen the Parties’ joint and individual capacities to protect the environment and to promote sustainable development and green growth as they strengthen their trade and investment relations while transitioning to greener economies.
2. Accordingly, the Parties shall cooperate, as appropriate, on the matters identified in this Chapter, or any other matter as mutually agreed. Such cooperation may take place bilaterally.
3. The Parties may:
(a) share their priorities for cooperation, including the objectives of that cooperation;
(b) propose cooperation activities related to the implementation of this Chapter, including relevant discussions of their transition to net zero; and
(c) develop and participate in cooperation activities and programmes as agreed.
4. Cooperation may be undertaken through various means including
(a) dialogues, workshops, seminars, conferences, collaborative programmes, and projects;
(b) technical assistance to promote and facilitate cooperation and training, the sharing of information, data, and evidence based practices on policies and procedures; and
(c) the exchange of experts.
5. The Parties may promote public participation in the development and implementation of cooperative activities, as appropriate.
6. All cooperative activities under this Chapter are subject to the availability of funds and of human and other resources, and to the applicable laws and regulations of the Parties.
Article 18.19. Environment Contact Points
Each Party shall designate and notify a contact point from its relevant authorities within 90 days of this Agreement's entry into force to facilitate communication between the Parties in implementing this Chapter. Each Party shall promptly notify the other Party in the event of any change to its contact point.
Article 18.20. Non-Application of Dispute Settlement
The Parties shall not have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 25 (Dispute Settlement) for any matter arising under this Chapter.
Chapter 19. TRADE, GENDER BALANCE AND WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Article 19.1. General Principles
1. The Parties acknowledge the importance of women’s economic empowerment to sustainable, inclusive and equitable trade and investment.
2. The Parties acknowledge that ensuring women’s full and equal participation and leadership in the economy, including in the labour market, and their entrepreneurship underpin economic prosperity, and the wellbeing of societies.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to integrate women’s economic empowerment in their trade and investment relationship, including through, inter alia:
(a) incorporating women’s economic empowerment into trade and investment related policies;
(b) adopting, implementing and monitoring laws, regulations, policies and practices and making them publicly available, that advance women’s economic empowerment in trade and investment;
(c) identifying and removing barriers that limit opportunities for women to participate in and benefit from trade and investment;
(d) supporting inclusive and equitable access for women to trade and investment opportunities;
(e) sharing information, tools and experiences in designing, implementing, resourcing and strengthening policies, programmes and other initiatives to advance women’s empowerment in trade and investment; and
(f) promoting women’s empowerment and non-discrimination in employment and income opportunities, including addressing gender pay gaps and safety in workplaces.
4. The Parties recognise their obligation to enforce their laws and regulations on non-discrimination and women’s empowerment. Furthermore, the Parties recognise that it is inappropriate to encourage trade and investment by weakening or reducing the protection thereof afforded in their respective laws and regulations.
5. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to preclude a Party from applying measures that it considers necessary to meet its international obligations to respect, protect, fulfil and promote human rights.
Article 19.2. International Instruments
1. The Parties affirm their commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women done at New York City on 18 December 1979.
2. The Parties affirm the objectives of the Joint Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment done at Buenos Aires on 12 December 2017.
3. The Parties recognise that advancing women’s empowerment contributes to inclusive and equitable trade, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 5 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development adopted by the UN General Assembly Resolution 70/1 on 25 September 2015, and the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995.
4. The Parties also acknowledge their women’s empowerment commitments applicable to trade and investment under other relevant international agreements or instruments to which the Parties are party.
Article 19.3. Cooperation
1. The Parties shall undertake cooperation activities that advance women’s economic empowerment in trade and investment, including support for women workers, business owners and entrepreneurs to access the full benefits and opportunities created by this Agreement.
2. Cooperation activities may take the form of, but are not limited to, exchange of information and best practices, technical discussions, joint research activities, trade missions, visits, or conferences, cooperation in multilateral forums and such other forms as the Parties may agree.
3. All cooperation activities under this Chapter are subject to the availability of resources, and in accordance with laws and regulations of the Parties.
Article 19.4. Contact Points
Each Party shall designate a contact point to facilitate communication and the exchange of information on matters arising under this Chapter within 90 days of the date of entry into force of this Agreement in order to facilitate communication between the Parties. Each Party shall promptly notify the other Party in the event of any change to its contact point.
Article 19.5. Non-Application of Dispute Settlement
The Parties shall not have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 25 (Dispute Settlement) for any matter arising under this Chapter.
Chapter 20. TRADE AND LABOUR
Article 20.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
ILO means the International Labour Organization;
ILO Declaration means the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up done at Geneva on 18 June 1998 and as amended in 2022;
labour rights means:
(a) the fundamental rights set out in the ILO Declaration; and
(b) acceptable conditions of work with respect to wages and hours of work, including any requirements to provide wage-related benefit payments to, or on behalf of, workers, as per a Party’s domestic regulations, such as those for profit sharing, bonuses, retirement, and healthcare, as established by a Party in its laws, regulations, and practices thereunder, of acceptable conditions of work as determined by that Party;
labour laws mean laws and regulations, or provisions of laws and regulations, of a Party that are directly related to labour rights;
laws and regulations or laws or regulations mean:
(a) for Australia, an Act of the Commonwealth Parliament or a regulation made by the Governor-General in Council under delegated authority under an Act of the Commonwealth Parliament, which is enforceable at the central level of government; and
(b) for the United Arab Emirates, a Decree-Law, Law or Decree issued by the President of the State, the Cabinet, or the competent Ministries which is enforceable at the Federal level.
Article 20.2. Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
(a) promote trade and labour laws and regulations in a way that is conducive to full and productive employment and decent work for all;
(b) promote cooperation and dialogue between the Parties on trade and labour;
(c) enhance the capacities of the Parties to address labour issues; and
(d) promote a stable and productive labour environment in a manner that supports productivity and business investment and contributes to the sustainable economic development in both countries.
Article 20.3. Statement of Shared Commitments
1. As members of the ILO, the Parties affirm their commitment to respect and advance labour rights, including those stated in the ILO Declaration, within their territories.
2. The Parties recognise that, as stated in paragraph 5 of the ILO Declaration, labour standards should not be used for protectionist trade purposes.
Article 20.4. Right to Regulate
1. Each Party recognises the sovereign right of the other Party to establish its own levels of domestic labour protection and its own priorities on labour, and to establish, adopt or modify its labour laws and policies accordingly, in a manner consistent with its international labour commitments referred to in this Chapter.
2. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that its labour laws and policies provide for and encourage high levels of labour protection and shall strive to continue to improve such laws and policies with the goal of providing protection for labour rights.
Article 20.5. Labour Rights
The Parties, in accordance with their laws and regulations, and their obligations as members of the ILO and the ILO Declaration, shall endeavour to adopt and maintain labour rights.
Article 20.6. Non-Derogation
The Parties recognise that it is inappropriate to encourage trade and investment by weakening or reducing the protections afforded in their respective labour laws.
Article 20.7. Enforcement of Labour Laws
1. Neither Party shall fail to enforce its labour laws through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction in a manner affecting trade or investment between the Parties after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. Each Party retains the right to exercise reasonable enforcement discretion and to make bona fide decisions with regard to the allocation of enforcement resources between labour enforcement activities among the labour rights, provided that the exercise of that discretion, and those decisions, are not inconsistent with its obligations under this Chapter.
Article 20.8. Non-discrimination, Equality and Safety In the Workplace
1. The Parties acknowledge the importance of equality and non-discrimination in employment, entrepreneurship and income opportunities for sustainable, equitable, and inclusive economic growth.
2. Each Party affirms its commitments to non-discrimination in employment, occupations and places of work on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, and to take measures to advance anti-discrimination practices and eliminate any and all discriminatory practices, including in relation to working arrangements, opportunities and pay or salary.
3. The Parties agree to share information on their respective domestic approaches and to cooperate, as appropriate, on activities to address discriminatory practices, promote equality of opportunity and safety in employment, and to ensure decent work and improve access to the benefits of trade or investment for all.
4. Each Party recognises the importance of eliminating violence and harassment from the world of work and shall endeavour to investigate and address violence or threats to violence in the workplace.
Article 20.9. Forced or Compulsory Labour
1. Each Party recognises the goal of eliminating all forms of forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory child labour. Taking into consideration, consistent with paragraph 2 of the ILO Declaration, that the Parties have assumed obligations in this regard in their membership to the ILO, each Party shall also discourage, through initiatives it considers appropriate, the importation of goods from other sources produced in whole or in part by forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory child labour. (1)
2. Each Party affirms their commitments to respect, promote and realise the ILO fundamental conventions that aim to progress the effective abolition of child labour, particularly: