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In a live forum broadcast nationally across the National Australia Bank's Vision network Federal Trade Minister Mark Vaile last night joined a panel of trade and economics experts to discuss the current state of play in reforming the world's trading system and what this means for the Australian economy and businesses.
Joining Minister Vaile were host Mr Michael Pascoe, Mr Geoff Allen, a trade adviser of many years standing and Co-Chairman of the Allen Consulting Group, Mr Lyall Howard, Manager of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Rio Tinto and the National Australia Bank's Chief Economist, Dr Alan Oster.
Relationship Managers from the National's Business, Personal, Agribusiness, Corporate & Institutional and Private Banking segments hosted over 2,000 key clients and local business leaders. The forum was beamed live to over 70 National Business Banking and Agribusiness Centres from Albany in Western Australia to Cairns in Queensland and all points in between.
In a wide ranging discussion, Minister Vaile said that he believed a Free Trade Agreement with the United States was within reach but that Australia would also be prepared to walk away if the deal was not good enough for the nation's exporters and importers.
The Minister was also extremely positive about the opportunities for Australia in seeking to progress preliminary discussions on an FTA with China, the first step being a commitment by both countries to conduct a two year feasibility study into the benefits of a free trade agreement between the two nations.
"It clearly signals that China wants Australia as a long term trade partner" Minister Vaile said.
The National's Chief Economist Dr Alan Oster said that while the largest opportunities lay in multilateral reform, unilateral agreements were extremely important for Australian businesses.
"Trade reform is similar to structural change. While there may be little short term impact on things like interest rates and the dollar, the longer term growth impacts are very important. Trade reform can open up markets and this drives interaction with the services sector which can drive capital flows and interest rates" Oster said.
Allen Consulting Group Co Chairman and a former Executive Director of the Business Council of Australia, Geoff Allen said that industry organisations and peak bodies were extremely important in influencing the direction of the government in negotiating trade outcomes.
"It can sometimes be hard for individual businesses to focus on the longer term when they have to run their day to day businesses. Industry associations are able to get on top of that" he said.
Allen said that these groups have been very successful in influencing outcomes and that the Government has adopted a very inclusive approach to ensuring that Australian businesses are well represented at the negotiating table.
It was a point echoed by Lyall Howard of Rio Tinto and formerly Director of Trade Policy at the National Farmers Federation.
"Australian businesses and our farmers in particular have driven the issues hard and have been very successful" he said.
Howard also said that Australian business has a major opportunity to gain from trade reform, particularly in Asia, where the prospect of progress with China is tantalising.
"With China, Australia is on the cutting edge and right on the front foot – ahead of the rest of the world on forming a deeper relationship with a powerhouse of the world economy".
Mr Paul Clark, General Manager, Business Financial Services said the aim of the Forum was to provide small businesses with access to up-to-the minute information to help them make investment and business decisions, capturing opportunities that trade might present.
"Good business is built around good decisions and good decisions are built around good information. The Trading through Change forum is a great example of this, particularly with the Minister just back from the negotiating table in the United States."
"We certainly appreciated Minister Vaile making the time available and I'm sure that the 2,000 or so businesses watching around the country now have a much better understanding of the issues and the opportunities to be gained from trading through change" Mr Clark said.
A web cast of the 'Trading through Change' Forum, will be available on to the National's web site: www.nab.com.au from Wednesday 3 December 2003.
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