The world is undergoing a great period of reflection on the role for, and value of, the globalisation of trade and its current trading agreements and patterns.
It is a significant period of global economic and social disruption - maybe a once in 60 year event - and challenges the concept of international trade and investment as we have known it over that time.
It has created a heightened sense of uncertainty in all global economies led by the intentions and demands of new international events such as America First and Brexit.
It is now believed all markets will be impacted by these changes in global political direction and policy.
One consequence of this change is that countries that have historically relied on trade and investment direction from the US or EU are now looking for new global leadership - and or new alliances - to fill the gap and this represents an opportunity for Australian interests and capability. The accelerated negotiation of an FTA between Japan and EU is an example of that.
But this may also lead to a ‘co-opetition’ effect from traditional partners such as Canada, UK and Japan as they seek to protect their own interests and opportunities in international markets first and foremost and we need to be aware of that.
We need to appreciate that the economic and social disruption which has been building over several decades is inexorably linked to the new ‘game changing’ technologies and applications emerging from the global digital economy which are being targeted to meet the requirements of the information age and are being generated at ‘hyper speed’. A clear example of this is the rapid emergence of Bit Coin and Blockchain secure distributed ledger technology.
Australia can continue to build on our unique value proposition of being a trusted partner and thought leader to our global partners and that the government focus on democracy, rule of law and free trade remains important – not just for emerging economies but also in any economy that is seeking to build, borrow or buy innovation, capability and talent from Australia.
As we transition into the information age Austrade must be able to manage both our ‘traditional economy’ trade and investment opportunities in goods and services while at the same time we must understand, source and manage the new types of ‘digital economy’ opportunities.
We will also need to find new ways to identify and engage with innovation focussed participants in the global digital economy and deal with them in a way that is appropriate and responsive to them and their needs.
We need to to take advantage of our digital connectivity, levels of education and research, our way of living and thinking and our cultural characteristics to find our place as a participant in and delivery of global products and services from the outset - and not to just consider the Australian domestic market as our only opportunity.
Because China certainly is!
Australia must also create more open and accessible ways to generate, share and manage market knowledge across international markets and in both existing and new industry sectors and markets.
In particular our traditional interaction with markets and our innovation and thought leadership can be enhanced by ensuring that our own capability, resources and methods of investment in, and research collaboration with, are best matched to achieve the results we expect of ourselves as a major participant in this new information age and global digital economy.
This is a period of great uncertainty but it is also a period where the need for Australian thought leadership through our understanding of international markets and trends and drivers has never been more important and we will be expected to deliver new alliances and opportunities to Australian industry across all sectors and areas of Government and commercial priority and from and to all the worlds different regions
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