Free trade agreements (FTAs) have become the main vehicle of trade liberalisation. Both North-South and South-South FTAs increasingly go beyond the removal of trade barriers and link free trade with social standards, including labour and environmental provisions. Australia has been at the forefront of bilateral trade liberalisation, signing multiple FTAs, but conspicuously avoided incorporating social standards in the agreements it initiated. In doing so it has become a real outlier in the OECD world. What accounts for Australia’s resistance to the inclusion of social standards in FTAs? Scholars have advanced various explanations for the issue-linkage between social standards and FTAs, including cross-national diffusion, societal interests, domestic institutions and bargaining. We evaluate their explanatory power and argue that Australian policy-makers view social standards primarily as protectionist tools that could hurt trade. This perception is reinforced by the broad acceptance of free trade among the Australian public. We explore the framing of social standards by Australian trade policy officials and the public to uncover why Australia has failed to link social standards with its trade agreements. Our analysis adds to the growing literature on FTA design and non-trade issues using Australia as a deviant case.

自由贸易协定（FTA）已成为贸易自由化的主要载体。南北自由贸易协定和南南自由贸易协定都越来越超越消除贸易壁垒，并将自由贸易与包括劳工和环境规定在内的社会标准联系起来。澳大利亚一直处于双边贸易自由化的最前沿，签署了多项自由贸易协定，但明显避免将社会标准纳入其发起的协议。在这样做的过程中，它已成为经合组织世界的一个真正的异常值。是什么导致澳大利亚拒绝将社会标准纳入自由贸易协定？学者们对社会标准与自由贸易协定之间的问题联系提出了各种解释，包括跨国传播、社会利益、国内制度和谈判。我们评估了它们的解释力，并认为澳大利亚政策制定者主要将社会标准视为可能损害贸易的保护主义工具。澳大利亚公众对自由贸易的广泛接受强化了这种看法。我们探讨了澳大利亚贸易政策官员和公众制定的社会标准，以揭示澳大利亚为何未能将社会标准与其贸易协定联系起来。我们的分析增加了关于自由贸易协定设计和非贸易问题的越来越多的文献，并将澳大利亚作为一个异常案例。我们探讨了澳大利亚贸易政策官员和公众制定的社会标准，以揭示澳大利亚为何未能将社会标准与其贸易协定联系起来。我们的分析增加了关于自由贸易协定设计和非贸易问题的越来越多的文献，并将澳大利亚作为一个异常案例。我们探讨了澳大利亚贸易政策官员和公众制定的社会标准，以揭示澳大利亚为何未能将社会标准与其贸易协定联系起来。我们的分析增加了关于自由贸易协定设计和非贸易问题的越来越多的文献，并将澳大利亚作为一个异常案例。