Speech
Canberra, 12 February 2003
White Paper on Foreign Affairs & Trade: Advancing the National Interest
Ladies and Gentlemen
Advancing the National Interest sets out the objectives, strategies and context for the most ambitious and wide-ranging trade policy agenda in the history of this country.
It articulates the policy approach the Coalition Government has adopted post-Seattle - the policy approach of Competitive Liberalisation.
Our trade policy has changed significantly since the last Foreign Affairs and Trade White paper.-
Competitive liberalisation - is about using bilateral and regional liberalisation as a benchmark for multilateral liberalisation, and vice versa.
It departs from the traditional approach of viewing Australia's trade negotiations as a zero sum game.
It demonstrates instead that bilateral and regional liberalisation can compliment and stimulate multilateral liberalisation.
For example, next week I will sign the Singapore Australia Free Trade Agreement.
The first FTA Australia has concluded since the CER with New Zealand in 1983.
And Last November I hosted a World Trade Organisation mini-Ministerial meeting in Sydney.
The first time in its history that Australia has hosted and chaired such a meeting.
These pursuits are not mutually exclusive.
Our pursuit of FTAs with the US and Thailand and of trade and economic agreements with Japan, China and Korea will also stimulate and compliment our efforts to conclude the Doha Round.
And our bilateral FTA agenda will not stop there.
The White Paper states that the Government will pursue bilateral agreements with the objective of linking Australia more firmly to all major regions.
Egypt and Mexico have expressed interest in free trade agreements with Australia.
And there maybe an opportunity for a similar arrangement with other Middle East countries, like the United Arab Emirates.
Such agreements will highlight to our trading partners that we are conscious of the diversity of our export markets.
And they will guarantee that we are not left standing still if the EU and Japan fail to move on agriculture in the Doha Round.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Our agenda of competitive liberalisation will build on Australia's strengths.
Australia's economy has grown strongly, building on the fundamental and continuing economic reforms of the Liberal/National Party Government.
Australia has one of the fastest-growing economies in the developed world, with the second-highest productivity growth in the OECD.
This growth has translated into jobs and greater economic freedom for families throughout Australia.
The quality of a country's governance is crucial in determining whether it gains from globalisation.
The soundness of our economic policies has seen us prosper in what has otherwise been a difficult international climate.
Which has included the East Asian financial crisis and global uncertainty following September 11.
Our economy is open, productive and efficient and is positioned well to sustain our future security and prosperity.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Two decades ago, exports were 11 per cent of Australia's gross domestic product. Now they account for 22 per cent.
Today, the jobs of one in five Australians depend on exports. This figure rises to one in four in regional and rural Australia.
And exporting firms offer better wages and conditions than non-exporting firms. They tend to invest more in technology and training.
Trade is more important for Australia than ever before -- and we are now more successful traders than ever before.
Over the last ten years, Australia's export growth has averaged almost 8 per cent a year, compared with world export growth of about 5.5 per cent.
Our exports have become more diverse. Our top 20 exports include commodities, manufactures and services.
In fact, the three fastest-growing export items over the past ten years were wine, motor vehicles and medicines.
Our markets are also more diverse. India, for example, is our fastest-growing major Asian market.
And the Middle East has been our fastest growing regional market .
Passenger motor vehicles account for more than a quarter of our exports to the Middle East region.
Ladies and gentlemen
Advancing the National Interest sets out an ambitious and comprehensive approach, that of Competitive Liberalisation, this approach will maintain the momentum of global trade liberalisation.
The Doha Round of WTO negotiations remains our No.1 trade policy objective and is Australia's best hope for better access for Australian goods and services to global markets.
Australia was instrumental in the launch of the Round in 2001, which reversed the failure of Seattle, in 1999.
And as the informal meeting of trade ministers that I hosted in Sydney showed, we will play a crucial role in negotiating the final outcome.
A final outcome that will only be achieved if the needs of Australia and developing countries are met on agriculture.
Australia will work hard, in particular, with developing countries in the Cairns Group, to win significant reform of agricultural trade.
As Chair of the Cairns Group I will ensure that it remains a dynamic force in the negotiations.
As part of our commitment to the Doha Round and its emphasis on development, today I have announced that Australia will contribute a further $500,000 to the World Trade Organisation's Global Trust Fund to help developing countries engage in the negotiations.
This new contribution is part of the $28 million we are spending this financial year on trade related technical assistance, particularly to our developing country trading partners in East Asia and the South Pacific.
They come on top of our decision last year to grant duty free and quota free access for all products from least developed countries and East Timor, effective from 1 July 2003.
Ladies and gentlemen
A free trade agreement with the United States is the Government's highest bilateral trade priority.
We are under no illusions - the negotiations will be tough.
But an agreement that removes barriers to Australian exports, particularly agriculture, is worth pursuing.
An agreement could also reduce the costs of doing business with our largest trade and investment partner.
The Government will draw on the strong support of the Australia and US business communities, and the broad backing in Congress, to achieve a satisfactory result.
The Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement demonstrated the gains that bilateral agreements can achieve.
Australian legal, financial and educational services exporters, for example, will benefit from outcomes on services that are more advanced than those in the WTO.
In recent months the Government has begun free trade negotiations with Thailand.
The possible benefits for Australia are significant, particularly through tariff-free access to the Thai market.
Progress is encouraging.
The markets of North Asia are of major importance to Australia.
But the protection of agriculture by Japan and Korea makes it difficult to pursue free trade agreements with them.
So the Government has proposed broad-ranging trade and economic agreements to facilitate trade and investment with Japan and Korea.
We also will work to develop a strategic economic relationship with China.
Australia's $25 billion deal to provide LNG to China - our largest-ever single export deal - showed what can be done by the Government and business working closely together.
Regionally, APEC provides major opportunities to work towards free trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific.
APEC economies are committed to achieving free trade and investment by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing economies.
They have made significant progress - APEC's average tariff fell from 12 per cent to 8 per cent in between 1995 and 2000.
Australia will continue to drive APEC work in areas such as trade facilitation and corporate governance. APEC leaders, for example, have agreed on a plan to reduce the costs of trade by 5 per cent in five years.
The Government, with New Zealand, is pursuing economic integration with South East Asia through our Closer Economic Partnership with ASEAN.
This aims to reduce impediments to trade, and could eventually allow the Government to pursue trade and investment liberalisation with ASEAN.
Ladies and gentlemen
Exporting - as some of our most successful companies have realised - is a principal means of expanding your business.
Yet only 4 percent of Australian firms export - compared with 15 per cent, for example, in Canada.
The Government therefore aims to double the number of exporters by 2006.
To achieve this, the Government will support new and existing exporters through Austrade's programs, such as the TradeStart network.
Finally, the Government will ensure that our Competitive Liberalisation agenda is adequately resourced.
We have created the Office of Trade Negotiations in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
We have appointed new, senior-level negotiators for agriculture and free trade agreements.
We have established a task force dedicated to the negotiation of trade and economic agreements in Asia.
We have increased the resources of Australia's mission to the World Trade Organization.
And we have established new programs in Austrade and expanded current programs to work towards the doubling of exporters.
In short, Australia has the strengths, the strategies and the resources to advance its trade interests in a testing environment.
Ladies and gentlemen
In summary, the White Paper articulates that competitive liberalisation, strong economic foundations and a strong trade outlook will be the key factors in delivering Australia's future export growth.
It demonstrates that a practical, pragmatic and competitive approach to liberalisation will ensure Australia's future prosperity.
I thank the Secretary and staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Austrade for the work they have done in articulating that policy framework in this White Paper.
And I commend the White Paper to you.
Thank you.