Editorial
Free trade Down Under

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Free trade with Australia ought to be an easy vote for Washington's representatives in Congress.

Australia is a democratic country and ally. It respects human rights. It protects its environment. It has trade unions. By global standards, it is a high-wage country, with an average income of about 55 percent of the United States', or just under that of Singapore. Last year, it bought $2 billion of this state's products, principally aircraft, accounting for almost 6 percent of Washington's total exports. On a more normal year, it buys about $600 million of this state's farm products, medical equipment, software and other things. It is a good customer.

The trade agreement is not perfect. There is, for example, a completely unjustified exemption carved out for sugar, so that the cane refiners of Florida, whose owners have historically made large political contributions, may continue to charge monopoly prices to U.S. consumers.

By taking sugar off the table, the United States had to allow Australia to take wheat off the table. The interests of consumers in both countries were sacrificed for politically connected producers.

But that is still the exception to the rule under the generally pro-consumer bill, which eliminates all agricultural tariffs immediately.

Washington apples and other tree fruit still face technical and regulatory barriers. The federal government, having negotiated this agreement, should follow through by making sure that these problems are solved.