26 March 2008
COAG: New Ministerial Council on International Trade
A new Ministerial Council on International Trade is being established to better coordinate trade-related activities and reforms by Australia’s federal and state governments.
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) today agreed to establish the new Council.
Establishment of the Council on International Trade reflects the importance that COAG places on improving Australia’s trade performance and its contribution to Australia’s economic growth.
A key focus of the Council will be to restore Australia’s level of productivity and international competitiveness through better dialogue and cooperation on a broad range of trade-related issues.
This is the first time that federal and state trade and trade-related strategies have been brought together under one high-level body.
“Over the past five years, world trade has grown twice as fast as world output”, Mr Crean noted. “If we want to secure our future beyond the resources boom, we have to engage better with the world economy through increased trade, and particularly increased exports.”
“Increasing our exports is not just about our overseas trade agreements. It is also about all levels of government working together to ensure that our trade promotion efforts are well-coordinated.
“And it is also about reducing barriers behind the border: streamlining regulations, rules and administrative procedures; government procurement; competition policy; and about facilitating the flow of goods and services to international markets, including through infrastructure development.”
“This is our ‘twin pillars’ approach to trade: reform at the border, to improve market access, and reform behind the border, to create a more productive and competitive economy.”
“Many of these behind-the-border issues require extensive consultation with State and Territory Governments. This consultation will be better coordinated within the framework of the new Ministerial Council on International Trade.”
Closer dialogue and more systematic cooperation will also facilitate information flows and policy cooperation on issues that are subject to international trade negotiations to ensure an effective and coherent Australian negotiating position at the multilateral, regional and bilateral levels.
The Council will facilitate cooperation between the Federal and State and Territory Governments on measures to enhance Australia’s international competitiveness and export performance; and to consult on major issues such as:
- international trade negotiations at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level,
- trade development and trade promotion activities,
- investment promotion and international business activities, and
- domestic competitiveness issues related to export performance and productivity.
Membership of the Council will include the Minister for Trade as chair and state and territory counterparts.
Media Inquiries: Mr Crean's office 02 6277 7420 - Departmental Media Liaison 02 6261 1555