PBEC Trade Report June 2023 AUSTRALIA & EU FACING TOUGH WEEKS: Australia and the EU face tough weeks ahead as they seek to resolve contentious issues and deliver an FTA. Following talks in Brussels during the week Trade Minister Farrell told Sky News he would walk away if an FTA “in the interests of Australia” could not be reached. LEADING ECONOMIES CALL OUT COERCION: Australia, New Zealand, US, Japan, UK and Canada met in Paris during the week and issued…
PBEC Trade Report
PBEC Trade Report May 2023 – Part II AUSTRALIAN MINISTER JETS TO CHINA: Trade Minister Farrell has jetted to Beijing for his long-awaited meeting with Commerce Minister Wang. They met on Friday where Minister Wang accepted an invitation from Minister Farrell to make a reciprocal visit as the two ministers seek to resolve a major trade dispute. BUT NO QUICK TRADE FIXES: While the first Joint Ministerial Economic Commission meeting since 2017 did not produce any immediate resolutions to the…
PBEC Trade Report May 2023 US CALLS OUT EU GI POLICY: The USTR has again called out what it describes as the EU’s aggressive promotion of its exclusionary geographical indications (GI) policies. In an IP report the US said it remained concerned with the EU’s proposed expansion of its GI system to cover non-agriculture and food products. AUSTRALIA-EU FTA TALKS: A 15th Australia-EU FTA negotiating round between was held in Brussels during the week. A large Australian contingent travelled for…
PBEC Trade Report March 2023 AUSTRALIA LOOKING FOR CHINA TRADE PROGRESS: Australian trade officials are expected to continue talks with their Chinese counterparts this week ahead of an anticipated visit by Trade Minister Farrell. He told Sky News during the week he was confident some progress would be made on outstanding issues. TRADE MINISTERS HEAD TO NEW ZEALAND: Trade Ministers from CPTPP FTA economies will head to Auckland in July for a 7th CPTPP Commission. NZ will be hosting the…
PBEC Trade Report February 2023 – Part I AUSTRALIAN TRADE MINISTER TO VISIT CHINA: Trade Minister Farrell will visit Beijing soon in a bid to improve trade relations between the two economies. It follows a virtual meeting between Minister Farrell and Commerce Minister Wang. It was the first meeting of the respective trade ministers since 2019. USTR VISITS VIETNAM & MALAYSIA: US Trade Representative Tai – the Biden Administration’s top trade official – is visiting Vietnam and Malaysia this week….
Issue: 028: December 2022 PBEC Trade Report December 2022 – Part II INDO-PACIFIC & OTTAWA GROUP COMPLETE MEETINGS: Negotiators from the 14 Indo-Pacific Economic Framework economies have completed their first negotiating round in Australia. The talks were attended by 450 officials. Meanwhile the Ottawa Group has met virtually to plan its 2023 agenda for WTO reform. ASEAN & EU KEEP FTA ON HORIZON: ASEAN and the EU have kept the prospect of an FTA between them as a long-term objective….
Issue: 027: December 2022 PBEC Trade Report December 2022 WTO LEADER VISITS AUSTRALIA & NZ: WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala visited Australia and NZ during the week where she held a series of ministerial meetings. Delivering the Lowy Lecture in Sydney she said the recent WTO MC12 had shown it can work across geopolitical differences and deliver results. AUSTRALIA NAMES EXPORTER OF YEAR: Infant formula manufacturer Bubs Australia has been named as the 2022 Australian Exporter of the Year. Founded in…
Issue: 026: November 2022, Part I PBEC Trade Report November 2022 APEC TO BEGIN KEY MEETINGS: A series of key meetings begin in Bangkok on Sunday with the APEC Business Advisory Council. It will he followed by meetings of government officials, business chief executives and ministers before Thailand’s APEC 2022 culminates with the APEC Leaders’ Summit on November 18-19. CAMBODIA HOSTS RCEP FORUM: Cambodia has hosted a high-level RCEP FTA Forum in Phnom Penh to mark RCEP’s ten-year journey. Indonesian…
Issue: 025: October 2022 PBEC Trade Report October 2022 INDIA POSTPONES TRADE POLICY: India has postponed a new foreign trade policy and extended its current policy for a further six months. The Ministry of Commerce said the volatile global economic and geopolitical situation meant further consultations were required. A new policy was to be announced on September 30. AUSTRALIAN MINISTER INSISTS ON GREATER FARM ACCESS: Trade Minister Farrell is confident Australia can conclude an FTA with the EU in “good…
Issue: 024: September 2022 PBEC Trade Report September 2022 INDIA READIES NEW FOREIGN TRADE POLICY: India is finalizing a new foreign trade policy. Commerce Secretary Subrahmanyam was reported by The Hindu that the new policy would be unveiled on September 30. It would be part of a package to boost exports. An FTA with the UK could also be finalised soon. NEW ZEALAND TO REVIEW DAIRY QUOTAS: New Zealand is to review its dairy quota allocation system in ab id…