Australia is running out of time to accept the free trade agreement with China and there is no reason to think it could get a better deal, a bilateral business group has warned.
The Australia China Business Council says the country risks a huge loss of face, trust and opportunity if the agreement is scuttled.
The council told a federal parliamentary inquiry on Friday Australia stands to benefit through unprecedented access to the Chinese market, capitalising on its growing middle class and consumer-driven economy.
But it has only a five-year window to make the most of the Chinese relationship before competitive rivals swoop in.
The council warned that Australia could miss out if the deal is not adopted at the earliest possible opportunity, with the first tranche of tariff cuts due to take effect this year.
Chief executive Martine Letts said both China and Australia have compromised and neither has got exactly what they want.
"We don't think we are likely to get a better agreement, and time is of the essence," Ms Letts told the parliament's treaties committee in Melbourne on Friday.
But the peak body for electrical contractors is worried about an influx of low-quality products in the past year, with one woman electrocuted as a result.
The National Electrical and Communications Association called on the government to ensure Australia's safety standards are upheld and to ensure a larger proportion of products are batch-tested.
"If we're going to have a free trade agreement, we want to make sure those standards are upheld," chief executive Suresh Manickam said.
Asked whether there are concerns about overseas workers being given access to jobs over local people, Mr Manickam said he understood there are "sufficient safeguards" in place.
Employers have to demonstrate there is nobody locally who can fill the position, he said.
But unions believe the deal will put Australian jobs at risk and will potentially allow foreign workers to be exploited.
They are worried by a provision in the deal that does not require the local labour market to be tested for "contractual service suppliers" - companies that provide labour to a third party.
"This is obviously of huge concern to the union movement ... and it should be of huge concern to the country as a whole," CFMEU official Clive O'Connor said.
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