Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Video | Agriculture | Confidence | Economy | Energy | Employment | Finance | Media | Property | RBNZ | Science | SOEs | Tax | Technology | Telecoms | Tourism | Transport | Search

 

Perspectives: No. 476, July 2011

Perspectives: No. 476, July 2011

A Beacon For US Trade Policy

By Daniel J. Ikenson
18 July 2011

With the Doha Round dead and the United States no longer capable of global trade leadership, Australia should be exporting a commodity it produces and other countries lack: enlightened trade policy thinking. While a paucity of understanding about trade and its benefits afflicts policy in most countries, some fundamentally sound, intellectually coherent ideas have gained traction in Australia. Sixteenth-century mercantilist dogma may still dominate trade policymaking in Washington, but in Canberra the government has set a 21st-century course by espousing and embracing the real benefits of trade. Of course, it helps that Australia's Trade Minister is an economist with a PhD in international trade (and not a back-slapping former mayor who favours the path of least resistance).

The Gillard government published a paper in April conveying its view of trade policy as a tool to increase national prosperity. The document is striking in its contrast to the zero-sum world view permeating the Obama administration's plan to double US exports by 2014 and "win the future". In rejecting the "exports good, imports bad" mantra, the document is a refreshingly novel exposition of the manifestation of trade's benefits.

Indeed, the ideas embodied in three of the document's guiding principles — unilateralism, transparency and the indivisibility of trade policy from broader economic policy — are as close to universal truths as one will find outside the realm of the physical sciences. But those truths contradict the favoured sports metaphors and the "us versus them" characterisations of trade to which policymakers and much of the public have grown accustomed.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Click here to read article.

This article was published by The Australian Financial Review on 18 July 2011.

Articles in the Perspectives series plus a large library of books, studies, speeches, articles and DVDs on a wide range of public policy issues can be found at www.nzbr.org.nz

Related studies and commentary:

Ignorance Makes Us Poorer
An article first published the Washington Times
22 March 2011
By Richard W. Rahn
[Full text]

Free Trade Agreements and Free Trade
An article first published by the Otago Daily Times
14 January 2011
By Roger Kerr
[Full text]

New Zealand Exports 1910 - 2010
A video published online by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
October 2010
[Full text]

The Enemy Is Not Cheap Goods
An op-ed first published by the Boston Globe
6 October 2010
By Jeff Jacoby
[Full text]

New Zealand’s External Economic Policies
A report published by the New Zealand Business Roundtable
June 1997
By David Henderson
[Full text]

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

 
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.More

SPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.