The federal government and Labor are close to an agreement on the China free trade deal.
The Labor caucus is today expected to sign off on agreed measures to safeguard Australian jobs from a feared influx of foreign workers.
Labor MP Jim Chalmers says there's an opportunity to come together to find common ground and put in place appropriate safeguards.
A government source told the Australian Financial Review that there had now been several discussions between Trade Minister Andrew Robb and his opposition counterpart Penny Wong.
The government, in principle, was amenable to the Labor compromise because it was effectively having to give away nothing, it said.
But Liberal frontbencher Steven Ciobo was surprised by the report, saying all the protections Labor claimed were needed already existed.
"There is absolutely no plans (for compromise), we haven't even seen anything from the Labor party," the minister for international development told Sky News.
"Labor is running around full of hot air saying this needs to happen, that needs to happen, they are not even putting anything on the table."
The Greens say key areas of concern have not been addressed.
"Malcolm Turnbull has clearly handed a political win to Bill Shorten, but whether it is a win for the workers of this country or this nation still is in doubt," Senator Peter Whish-Wilson told reporters.
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