Shorten in union's pull on trade: Turnbull

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is open to talking to Labor about its concerns with Australia's trade deal with China.

But Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is yet to put up any specific proposals for how to fix what Labor sees as difficulties with arrangements over foreign workers, he noted.

"He has been dragged along in the slipstream of the CFMEU, which has run an alarmist, scare-mongering campaign ... designed to frighten people back into poverty," Mr Turnbull told Sky News on Wednesday.