protectionism

If only we could have a sovereign worker manufacturing facility — then the demands for manufacturing protectionism might not sound so silly.

The disruption of COVID-19 has highlighted some the risks of global trade, the new research report noted. However, protections such as trade barriers and subsidies can weaken economies.

Such bilateral trade agreements produce little economic benefit — and certainly nothing like the absurd claims made for them by politicians.

Greater collaboration with industry and better economic policies that foster productivity will be key concerns for the Australian Public Service under the federal government’s $1.5 billion modern manufacturing strategy.

Rather than sleep-walking towards yet another debt crisis, and the misery such nightmare reality would bring, the Commonwealth can open up pathways toward horizons of hope, with rich and poor walking in harmony towards a fairer, more secure, more sustainable and more prosperous future in which all can share, says the secretary-general of The Commonwealth.

Australian diplomats continue to strongly advocate free trade and multilateral diplomacy in response to Donald Trump’s revival of protectionism and the ensuing threat of trade wars, but that is only one side of the story.

Productivity Commission chairman Peter Harris chose an address to the European Australian Business Council to explain the independent advisory body’s views on Australia’s place in the global economy.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade turned 30 on July 14 and its job is only getting harder, but secretary Frances Adamson is confident that its past record is cause for optimism about its future.

The Canberra “beltway” needs more intelligence on what Australians are thinking, says the new DFAT head. As the forces of protectionism rally, she pondered the declining public trust in governments and foreign policy.