International trade

FREE TRADE AND AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY

Over the last three decades or so , Australia 's commitment to free trade agreement in the region and with a number of countries has changed much of its protection policy . Discuss the impact of this change on Australian economy

Abstract

On the economic front , the past decade-and-a- half has been one of singular achievement for Australia . Dumping the protectionist foreign policy of yesteryears into the dustbin of history , Australia is today boldly forging ahead in the comity of nations with a commitment bing on a

religious fervour , to open markets and globalization which has underpinned its remarkable growth . Open markets have paid rich dividends and the Australians intend to reap the rewards of the whirlwind of globalization

Australia has been a western country in the placid sea of inward-looking Orientals . Bred on the ideology of liberalism , it was natural for Australians to take the lead to usher in the modern materialistic gospel of free trade in the Asia-Pacific region , where the prevalent socio-cultural-religious milieu militated against new ideas , and change Change- with its flag of free trade- was anathema to the Oriental mind

Post World War II , in the aftermath of the years of depression unemployment and public sector investments , notably in the nineties Australia took the lead and continues to be the leader in ushering the doctrine of free trade and globalization . theless , as pointed out by Jiro Okamoto in a titled , Australia 's Foreign Economic Policy : a `State-Society Coalition ' Approach and a Historical Overview in Australia , there have been three major state-society coalitions in Australian foreign economic policy : `protectionists , `trade liberalisers ' and `optional bilateralists . The rise and fall of these coalitions resulted in distinctive shifts of Australia 's foreign economic policy in the 1980s towards unilateral and multilateral liberalisation and in the late 1990s towards bilateral trade and investment arrangements

From swings between protectionists and trade liberalisers , Australia is today unequivocally on the path of multilateral free trade , under the ambit of the World Trade Organisation , and globalisation

Australia 's recent second foreign and trade policy White states in unambiguous terms : Australia is a liberal democracy with a proud commitment to the core values of political and economic freedom which underpins our society and our philosophy of liberalism . The political and economic values that have shaped our institutions and outlook guide our approach to international affairs

The gains garnered over the years are eloquently summed up in a few revealing words in the official website of the Australian Government 's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (www .dfat .gov .au /trade : Trade is essential to our way of life . Trade creates jobs , boosts incomes in our local communities and increases our standard of living . No country can afford to close itself off from the world economy . As a country of 20 million people , we benefit from improved access to the global marketplace of more than six billion people

Over the years , Australia 's dogged pursuit of free trade regimes has now...