A lack of progress at international level has become a stumbling block for the Australian economy, says Minister for Trade Simon Crean. He believes efforts to stimulate the economy have been stifled by failure to come to a resolution on global trade.
“Economies are prepared to put in a lot of fiscal stimulus, but what’s the point in putting in the fiscal stimulus if you don’t generate the multiplier? The multiplier is trade. World trade grows faster, three times, historically, than world output,” he noted.
Crean recently expressed disappointment that the ministerial meeting planned for the next Doha round of free trade negotiations has been postponed and is unlikely to be held until next year.
“There is no denying that there are difficult issues at play – but they are surmountable with the right level of political will. When ministers have engaged this year we have made real progress, as we did in July. Ministers need to meet again to drive the process forward,” said Crean. “Australia will do all it can to promote that engagement and to create the conditions for the negotiations to advance as soon as possible.”
