Source: Australian Attorney General’s Agencies
I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather today, and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
Good afternoon everyone and thank you to the Lowy Institute and Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove, for the opportunity to speak today.
Australia is a trading nation.
From the first known trading networks between indigenous Australians in northern Australia and the Makasar of Indonesia; to the Australian wool which helped clothe the world in the early 20th century; to the energy and mineral resources that have helped societies across the globe develop their economies.
For centuries, we have relied on our ability to export as we have built the robust and modern economy from which we all benefit today.
However, until recently, most Australians did not have cause to pay much attention to international trade.
But that has changed in recent years.
The imposition of trade impediments by the Chinese Government on $20 billion worth of Australian exports highlighted the risk of putting all your eggs in one basket.
Upon my appointment as Minister for Trade and Tourism in 2022, working alongside Prime Minister Albanese and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Wong, we worked calmly and methodically to resolve these blockages for Australian businesses.
Our patient and calibrated approach to stabilising the bilateral relationship with China – without compromising our core interests and values – was vital in achieving the removal of these impediments.
This means that our world class wine, beef, lobster and many other products are now back on the tables of Chinese consumers, benefiting Australian businesses and local jobs.
This turnaround could not have been achieved without personal engagement – I have now met my Chinese counterpart, Commerce Minister Wang Wentou, ten times.
Our government has also taken steps to deepen our economic ties with our nearest neighbours and increase opportunities with new partners further abroad.
We have worked hard to strengthen our relationships in Southeast Asia, boosting two-way trade and investment with our closest region and reached Australia’s first free trade agreement in the Middle East, when we signed the Australian-UAE agreement late last year.
I look forward to visiting Abu Dhabi again soon to turbo-charge business and investment.
Getting our products into the UAE is like getting it into the Woolies warehouse, if you can get it there, you can then get it to all the surrounding countries in the Middle East.
I am proud of what our Government has achieved in the past three years, with solid foundations laid for continuing the work of building stronger and deeper trading relationships with international partners.
The diversification of our trade networks will open new opportunities for Australian exporters to ship their goods to the world and bring down the cost of living for Australians.
Of course, diversification doesn’t mean selling less to our largest trading partners, it means selling more to new partners.
As the Treasurer laid out in his recent address to the National Press Club, the Albanese Labor Government has organised its economic policy for the second term around three priorities:
- productivity;
- economic resilience; and
- budget sustainability.
Trade and investment support all three of these priorities.
Trade drives productivity through competitive innovation, spurred by global competition.
Trade enhances economic resilience by diversifying markets and supply chains.
And, trade contributes to budget sustainability by increasing revenues through exports and economic growth.
Nearly a third of Australia’s economic output is supported by trade.
One in four Australian jobs relate to trade.
And foreign investment provides the capital to build for the future, and access to global talent, new ideas, best practices and cutting-edge technologies.
Business craves certainty to enable long-term investment and planning.
For the past eight decades that certainty has been based on the institutions forged from the wreckage of World War Two – from trade agreements that have allowed the free flow of resources and capital, and the rules based order which has allowed for an even playing field, ushering in an unprecedented period of global economic growth.
But, these institutions and norms we worked so hard to build are being questioned and the rules we wrote are being challenged.
One of the chief designers of the global trading system, the United States, is now questioning the benefits of open, rules-based trade.
The Trump Administration is seeking to expand domestic manufacturing and influence the policies of trading partners.
Australia is a medium-sized open economy that is highly integrated with the global economy.
We rely on being able to send our produce, resources and human capital to the world to sustain the high standard of living which we enjoy today.
What we risk seeing is a shift from a system based on shared prosperity and interdependence to one based solely on power and size.
We cannot risk a return to the ‘law of the jungle’.
If our trading partners’ growth slows, without doubt we will suffer.
The costs to consumers and businesses of a global economic slowdown will be felt for generations, and the shockwaves of inflation will worsen.
Even before the imposition of tariffs by the current US Administration, several other forces have been reshaping global trade for some time.
Firstly, heightened geostrategic competition is increasing the intersection of national security and economic prosperity, made more complex by the rapidly evolving technology that is enabling both extraordinary new growth and adding to the global competition.
Secondly, the widespread use of industrial policy to support key sectors as nations seek to rebuild industrial bases and sovereign manufacturing capability and ensure technological dominance.
And thirdly, the transition towards net zero emissions.
These forces demand a more strategic, coordinated approach to trade policy.
An approach that balances openness with resilience and long-term competitiveness.
In 2025, we’re no longer in a “set and forget” world.
We can no longer afford to take the rules that underpin a stable trading system for granted.
So, how will the Albanese Labor Government navigate these challenges to best position Australia in a turbulent global economy?
We will be guided by five key principles.
The first principle is that free and open markets are essential to Australia’s prosperity.
Imposing tariffs of our own would drive up the costs for Australian families and businesses.
This position was backed up by the Productivity Commission in its most recent Trade and Assistance Review released earlier this month.
Our markets will remain open, and we will stand by our trade agreements. In fact, we will make them even stronger.
Our second principle is that world trade should be governed by rules and not by power alone.
We will always stand up for Australian industry and Australian jobs.
By fighting for a level playing field for our businesses and workers.
And by providing the right support to ensure our exporters are not locked out of the opportunities we have fought hard for.
The third principle is that of cooperation.
We have and will continue to take a good faith approach to trade negotiations – which means engaging with a genuine desire to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes and uphold the rules-based order which has benefited so many.
The fourth principle is that we will not leave those affected behind – Australian businesses, workers or the broader community.
As the Prime Minister has said, no one held back, no one left behind.
We will work hard to ensure that the benefits of trade are shared widely, which is why the Albanese Government is putting so much effort into inclusive trade policies, including our First Nations trade agenda.
That agenda has already had some big wins – a new international treaty recognising First Nations’ traditional knowledge, and a chapter specifically relating to first nations trade in our UAE agreement, which is the first time this has happened in any Australian trade agreement.
The final principle is that we will not compromise our fundamental values and interests.
Like the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and our biosecurity system.
To be clear, the announcement yesterday of the outcome of the technical assessment of beef from the United States is the culmination of a decade of science and risk-based import assessments and evaluations.
Australia is the land of the ‘’fair go’, we value social justice, fairness, inclusion and equality.
Programs like the PBS, which are at the heart of the health and wellbeing of our country, will never be up for negotiation under an Albanese Labor Government.
And while we believe in free and fair trade, we will not trade away parts of our core identity.
With these principles in mind, our government will continue to advance a trade policy which delivers for all Australians.
During the election campaign we committed to initiatives that would provide support to businesses impacted by protectionist trade measures.
This included strengthening our anti-dumping regime to help create a level playing field by addressing unfair trade.
In addition, we put $50 million dollars on the table to work closely with key industry peak bodies, supporting businesses to find and access new market opportunities and we will provide $1 billion in zero interest loans to firms.
We also committed to establishing a Strategic Reserve for critical minerals so we can make sure Australia can respond to trade and supply disruptions from a position of strength with our key partners.
And we will put Australian businesses at the front of the queue for government procurement and contracts.
This is in addition to implementing our Southeast Asia Economic Strategy2040 and our Roadmap for Economic Engagement with India.
And by backing local manufacturing through the Future Made in Australia policy, we will continue to invest in the skills, technology and renewable energy to make more things here, creating jobs and opportunities for Australians.
Of course, our ability to compete abroad depends on how productive we are at home.
Which is why the Government has such an ambitious domestic productivity reform agenda.
And that agenda depends, in turn, on the quality of our trade and investment connections to the world.
As I alluded to earlier in my remarks, trade diversification will continue to be a key focus.
We are fortunate to already have a strong network of 18 free trade agreements with 30 partners, covering almost 80 per cent of the value of our two-way trade.
But there is unfinished business.
I am committed to concluding a deal with the European Union, the missing piece in the puzzle of Australia’s network of FTAs, with a market of over 450 million consumers.
Having met recently with my European counterpart I know there is a genuine desire to reach an outcome.
But it will require a Team Australia approach both internationally and domestically with stakeholders, including business and farmers.
And I am committed to expanding our trade deal with India, the world’s most populous nation with a rapidly growing middle class.
Just these two new agreements bring in almost 2 billion new consumers for Australian products.
The good news is that my Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal, and I have a shared vision to boost two-way trade and investment.
There is new energy in regional trade agreements.
We are here to work with the region to back this trend.
As Chair of the CPTPP in 2025, Australia is seeking to expand the membership and deepen its high standard rules.
And closer to home, in the Pacific region, I want to ensure the gains from trade are spread throughout our neighbourhood.
Many Pacific island partners tell us they want to participate more fully in global supply chains. I want our friends like Fiji and PNG to be part of our regional trading network that has worked so well for us.
One of the key ingredients in development and poverty alleviation in Southeast Asia has been a story of opening up to trade.
That’s why so many of our neighbours are backing regionalism in trade as a response to the current turbulence.
Because backing these norms of rules and openness backs our region’s strength and vitality.
We will leverage the G20, OECD and APEC to build support for continued openness around the world, acting as a calm and considered voice for trade across the world.
Underpinning these bilateral and regional deals is the World Trade Organization, through which most global trade still flows according to its rules.
Our message to the world is simple: we will continue to respect the rules and be a partner you can count on.
Shaping the rules of the road is in our DNA.
We were a founding member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1948 and played a major role in the Uruguay Round negotiations which led to the creation of the WTO.
Now we face a major challenge in global trade – a time when Australia can play its part as a calm and considered international partner, leveraging our relationships to support free and fair trade.
The meeting of the world’s trade ministers in Cameroon in March next year must tackle the big issues of WTO reform – how we make decisions, make new rules, and enforce those rules.
We have got to bring new agreements like the one we have helped create on E-commerce, into the WTO rulebook.
We must also make progress on agriculture, where there has been a tilted playing field for far too long.
Australian businesses, workers and consumers are on the front line of this new era of global trade policy.
That is why we will back business with real, practical support to assist Australian exporters to seize the new opportunities created by our trade deals.
The Government is committed to genuine consultation – to ensure that our approach both reflects our community’s experience and meets our nation’s expectations.
Taking an economy wide approach has allowed us to navigate these last few months of tariff disruption successfully.
It is only with that same approach that we can navigate through the period of uncertainty ahead.
And ensure that Australia isn’t just a passive witness to our circumstances – but instead shapes them – as we have at key points before in our history.
The new trading landscape we face is difficult, and challenging.
But we have to have the courage of our convictions.
We know that open, rules-based trade and investment works.
An outward looking trade and investment policy is central to this Government’s ambitions for our economy.
From our earliest days, Australia has always been a trading nation.
Our businesses, our people and our communities benefit from it.
And we will continue to be a successful trading nation if we can both lift our performance at home and shape our circumstances abroad.
With a genuine Team Australia approach, I am confident we are up to that task.
Thank you.