Export Council set to rock the ship in 2013

What an interesting seven months ahead, the election date is announced early, we are going to run a deficit in 2012/13 and the dollar seems far from being in retreat.

From an Export Council of Australia perspective its spells out an opportunity to hammer home to the politicians just how uncompetitive we are becoming and what we expect in terms of trade policy particularly in the areas of cutting red and green tape. Trade facilitation costs or simply put, the cost of doing business out of Australia, should be ringing alarm bells. We have slipped right down the ladder in terms of being competitive and much of that, I am sad to say, is self inflicted, or in many cases government inflicted and hidden under the guise of user pays.

We will certainly let it be known what Australian exporters think and how many of these unnecessary costs are stifling business and costing jobs. Unless this issue is addressed soon, Australia will never be able to fully capitalise on the Asian agribusiness boom, which is often described as the next resources boom. 

Red tape is not the only issue we have on the agenda! The 40% reduction in the Export Market Development Scheme funding is unacceptable and so too the recent changes that reduce funding for ‘developed’ markets like the USA and Europe, where many SME see potential market growth and opportunities.  EMDG has been one of the most effective trade support programs the Government has introduced and today it is just a shadow of its former successful self. 

What else do we have on the agenda in 2013?

• The ECA will also promote the adoption of an Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) program to bring Australia into line with our international trading partners and reduce cost.

• The ECA will support other Australian business associations in promoting the inclusion of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions into Free Trade Agreements. Failure for its inclusion should not be allowed to stop the progress of Free Trade Agreements particularly when it results in giving competing markets like Chile a free ride for agriculture into Asian markets.

• The ECA is also a strong believer in building a closer relationship between industry/commerce and government on trade related issues, much like the successful model introduced to the United States under Obama.

• Finally, but by no means the least, the ECA will strongly promote adopting an all of  industry/government approach to winning major international projects, particularly in the services sector.  We currently compete against major economic powerhouses such as the UK, Germany, USA and France who all have strong government support initiatives for supporting their industries compete for major projects. So, why can we not have a similar Team Australia approach?

That, I suggest is enough from me, so please let’s hear your view.

Simply email me at ianmurray@export.org.au and let me know your thoughts; we can’t promise a fix but we can promise to try.

Good luck for the year ahead and Happy Exporting!

Ian Murray AM
Executive Director
Export Council of Australia