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Speech by the and Minister for Trade The Hon Tim Fischer, MP AUSTRALIA, ASIA AND JAPAN: NEW APPROACHES at the National Press Club Japan, Friday 17 May 1996
It is a great pleasure to have this opportunity to address the Press Club so soon after becoming Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade. The primary reason for me visiting Japan so early in the life of the new Australian Government is to demonstrate Australia's unequivocal commitment to building the relationship with Japan and to strengthening Australia's ties throughout Asia. Closer engagement with Asia is the Australian Government's highest foreign policy priority. And a key component of that closer engagement involves taking a more vigorous and effective approach to trade policy. Of course, the Asia Pacific has been crucial to Australian foreign and trade policy for generations. And Coalition Governments in Australia have, for many years, been at the forefront of efforts to ensure regional security and economic development. It was a Liberal-National Party Government which concluded the 1957 Australia-Japan Trade Agreement,and which, along with the Japanese Government founded APEC's predecessor, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in 1980. So, enthusiastic Australian engagement with Asia is not something unique to the last decade. We regard Asia as the engine room of the world's economy and Australia wants to be a part of the region's dynamism and growth. Japan, in particular, continues to be centrally important to Australia future. In economic terms it is, of course, absolutely vital. Japan is Australia's largest, and our most important trading partner. It is Australia's biggest export market, our second largest source of imports, our third largest source of foreign investment and our most valuable source of tourists. Japan is a driving force in global and regional efforts towards trade and investment liberalisation. It is a major player in the evolution of a distinctive Asia Pacific voice in international affairs. Japan has also been a strong and consistent supporter of Australia's efforts to develop stronger associations throughout East Asia. We in Australia very much appreciate Japan's cooperation with Australia over a long period of time. And we look forward to Japan's support continuing into the future as Australia works to strengthen its ties throughout East Asia. So it is only natural that I should make Japan one of my first ports of call. Today I want briefly to elaborate on the new Australian Government's approach to strengthening trade and investment links throughout the Asia Pacific. I also want to point to some of the initiatives Australia will undertake to build our relationship with Japan. APEC and the WTO Australia's future is inevitably linked to that of the countries of East Asia and the Asia Pacific. Asia's future is also Australia's future Australia's prosperity depends on an open, free and fair regional trade and investment environment. That is why we are so committed to keeping up the momentum of trade and investment liberalisation through APEC and the World Trade Organisation. APEC is the primary vehicle for regional economic cooperation. It has taken major steps over the past two years with the 1994 Bogor Declaration on free trade and last year's Osaka Action Agenda which consolidated the different streams of activity that had been developing over the previous six years. In 1996, we must ensure that APEC begins to deliver real benefits to business and industry. We should encourage APEC member states to table comprehensive and ambitious Individual Action Plans as early as possible so that they can be considered by leaders at their meeting at Subic Bay in November. For its part, Australia will be tabling a comprehensive and progressive individual action plan when APEC Senior Officials meet in Cebu next week. Australia, Japan and all APEC members will also need to be active in developing joint APEC initiatives for the Singapore WTO Ministerial Meeting in December. Of course, the development of a strong and forward looking WTO is central to the trading interests of both Australia and Japan. The WTO should be at least as enterprising as regional arrangements in pursuing trade liberalisation. And this should be a major theme and vision for the Singapore meeting. At Singapore, we should, in particular, be looking for agreement on a balanced and comprehensive approach to the WTO's Built In Agenda as the basis further multilateral trade negotiations by 1999. As a key architect of the Osaka Action Agenda, we, in Australia, trust that Japan will remain dynamically engaged in APEC. And we would urge Japan to continue shouldering a leadership role in the WTO so that we achieve a comprehensive outcome at the Singapore Ministerial. Australian Reforms For its part, Australia will continue to be active in helping to ensure the region's prosperity and stability into the future. The Australian Government's domestic reform agenda and our renewed emphasis on the development of strong bilateral economic relations are allied to region-wide efforts to develop open and free trading arrangements. Domestically, we have moved quickly to put macroeconomic policy on a responsible course. And, we are taking the hard decisions to ensure comprehensive microeconomic reform, including on Australian ports, in the labour market, in communications, transport and energy. These overdue adjustments will be central to Australia taking its place alongside the dynamic East Asian growth economies. They also represent a concrete contribution to the liberalisation and rationalisation of the region's trade and investment environment. Strengthening our bilateral links with key Asian countries will also contribute to the region's trade liberalisation agenda. Strong bilateral relationships are the bedrock of successful regional partnerships and the Japan-Australia partnership is, of course, one of the strongest links in the Asia Pacific web. We therefore look forward to working closely with Japan to address regional challenges in ways that will provide good outcomes for the Asia Pacific as a whole and for Japan and Australia. I should note here in passing that Australia welcomes wholeheartedly the reaffirmation by Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Clinton last month of the strong security relationship between Japan and the United States. The Japan-United States security alliance is the central plank of current security arrangements in the Asia Pacific and the Joint Declaration on Security demonstrates the vitality of the alliance as a force for regional stability. Australia-Japan Relations The importance of Japan to Australia is summed up in the single fact that Japan is our largest trading partner. It has been our most important trading partner for over two decades. Almost one quarter of Australia's exports are delivered to Japan and Japanese investment in Australia, which currently stands at around $A49 billion, continues to play a major part in Australia's economic development. On the other side of the coin, Australia has, quite literally, fuelled Japan's post-war economic growth Australia has traditionally supplied the Japanese economy with the agricultural commodities, minerals and energy inputs required for its incredible growth. We have been a reliable supplier of Japan's energy needs since the early 1960s, and we now supply over half Japan's coal needs and a large part of its LNG needs. But as our economic relationship has matured, that trade pattern has begun to change. Japanese companies are now recognising the diversity and sophistication of Australian goods and services. Over 50 per cent of Australian exports are now made up of processed goods and manufactured products. Some of these products have been developed specifically for the Japanese market: Australian made sake and Mitsubishi motor cars being two prominent examples. We will be utilising Australia-Japan Ministerial Committee meetings both this year and next to work on new approaches to build the bilateral relationship. These combined with our joint marking over the next two years of significant bilateral anniversaries allow us the opportunity to broaden and deepen the relationship further. Our political relationship has also strengthened markedly in recent years. I would mention in particular that Australia fully supports Japan's accession to permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. And Australia has warmly welcomed Japan's strong support for our involvement in emerging regional dialogue structures such as Asia Europe Meetings. Our two countries are in the process of strengthening bilateral security dialogue. And Australia is eager to encourage greater and more meaningful people to people links between our two countries. Conclusion In 1996, we will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Australia and Japan, and the one hundredth anniversary of bilateral consular relations. And 1997 will mark the fortieth anniversary of the Australia Japan commerce agreement, which has meant so much to both our countries. The challenge issued by these landmark events is to find new ways to broaden and deepen the ties between us. To do this, both countries need to be courageous in working to open up our economies to competition. And we must be more willing than ever before to share views and perspectives on how the region should develop in the decades ahead.
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Local Date: Saturday, 06-Dec-2008 04:22:13 EST