Australia and the WTO

Australia became a member of the WTO on January 1, 1995. The World Trade Organization has benefited Australia in a lot of ways since its entrance to the group. In turn, Australia has contributed a lot to countries and affairs all around the world since its admission to the World Trade Organization clan. They have really done their part to help other countries as much as they possibly can. Trade has been taking place between Australia and other prestigious countries around the world for many years now.

The foreign affairs minister of Australia announced on February 12, 2003, that Australia would contribute another $500,000 to the WTO's Global Trust fund to help developing country members and observers of the WTO increase their ability to engage in the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations. The benefits of trade and investment liberalization for developing countries, such as Australia, are really quite clear. Integration into this global economy is important for smaller, struggling countries in order to obtain a good amount of economic growth and reduce the overall level of poverty. The Doha round offers important opportunities for poorer countries to negotiate for better access to the markets for their exports, by vying for lower trade barriers in the richer countries. This contribution by Australia to the Global Trust Fund clearly shows Australia's commitment to help developing countries, and because Australia is a member of the WTO, observing countries in turn will most likely consider becoming a part of the WTO, since Australia set forth such a wonderful example (Downer).

Originally, Australia donated 28 million dollars to trade-related technical assistance activities in the years 2002 and 2003. Since joining the WTO, Australia has not held back at all from responding quickly and positively to the needs of any up-and-coming developing countries in the Doha Round. The Doha Round was a new round of international trade negotiations initiated in 2001. The agreement to embark on a new round of trade was originally reached in the city of Doha (also known as Qattar), the negotiation became known as the Doha Round. The goal of this agreement was to further move along implementation of liberalization to help developing and poor nations grow. Another objective was to expand the role of the WTO to encompass more trade activities where rules were deemed insufficient, due to either intentional exclusion by governments in earlier negotiations, or to new technology that ended up changing the global marketplace. Some examples of these are in regulating trade of agricultural goods, anti dumping, and electronic commerce. The beginning of the Doha Round negotiations was rather slow, because the US negotiators did not have "fast track authority", by which Congress could either approve or disapprove proposed trade agreements but could not amend or change them. In the summer of 2002, though, fast track authority was granted to the President of the US, and prospects to the Doha Round improved quite rapidly. The conclusion to the Doha Round of negotiations is expected by the year 2006 (Czinkota).

Australia has helped other countries in the Doha Round by granting duty-and-quota-free access for all products that are produced in LDC's and East Timor. This has been in effect since July 1, 2003. Australia has also built a $3.4 million Capacity building for the WTO in the Asia-Pacific Region, and given trade policy training for officials from developing countries' governments. They have contributed buckets of money to different advancement programs and funds, and now the WTO's Global Trust Fund, thanks to Australia's contributions, will be able to enable the delivery of over 440 technical assistance and capacity building activities. These were specifically requested by the developing, and least developed, members of the WTO, as well as the countries that are in the process of joining the WTO. The activities previously mentioned will aim to increase developing country participation in the WTO, especially during current negotiations (Downer).

Because Australia is such a well-developed country, other smaller, less-important countries are influenced by it in many different ways. Australia tends to set an example for others in the global business market as a member of the WTO. It is a stable, democratic society with a skilled workforce and a very strong, competitive economy. Australia has a population of twenty million people; it is the only nation to govern an entire continent, and is the sixth largest country in the world in land area as well. Australia has a multi-cultural society that includes many different migrants from all around the world. This country boasts one of the most outstanding economies in the world, at least in recent years. It stands tall as a high-growth, low-inflation, low interest rate economy...it is more vibrant than ever before. Their government is very efficient, and they also have a flexible labor market and a highly competitive business sector (Australia Today)

Abundant available resources provides for a high standard of living for Australian residents since the nineteenth century. This country has made a rather significant investment in social infrastructure, which includes education, training, health, and transport. The country's workforce, approximately ten million people, is very highly trained. Many of the people higher on the proverbial food chain, the senior managers and technical staff, have had international experience. Nearly half of Australia's workforce has diplomas from universities or trade schools. They are very qualified in nearly every available area. Since good language skills are a distinct advantage in a globalized economy workforce, Australia's economy has realized this importance, and more than 4.1 million people in Australia speak a second language. Australia is an English speaking country and offers a Western business culture. They are capable of operating in both Asian and Western business environments; Australia has the widest range of native Asian language skills in the region (Australia Today).

The admission of the country of Australia into the WTO has been a definite benefit to the World Trade Organization. Australia is the epitome of a culturally diverse society; migrants have had an incredible influence on any and all aspects of Australian society. Almost six million migrants have arrived in Australia from over 200 countries in the last fifty years of post-war migration. This includes more than 600,000 refugees, and the overall population of Australia has increased from seven million people to well over twenty million. This shows that Australia is a safe haven for millions, causing it to be an attraction to many others around the world (Australia Today).

Many countries have chosen to invest in Australia in recent years, due to its incredibly stable economic, political, and social environments. Because of the large amount of diversification in Australia's export base recently, Australia has expanded from being merely a commodity exporter to having sophisticated manufacturing and service industries. These both attract investors, thereby increasing global trade. Australia is one of the most open and innovative economies in the world; the government of Australia is quite committed to maintaining this achieved goal. Strong economic growth over the last ten years or so have been accompanied by low inflation and low interest rates as well as a strong productivity performance. In the years 2002-2003, the Australian economy performed very well; in contrast with weaker global conditions, Australia recorded a 2.7% growth, making it one of the strongest in the developed world. Growth in the future is imminent (Australia Today).

Trade in Australia remains strong as new services and more sophisticated manufacturing export markets are emerging. Their export values have reached $151 billion in 2002, with service exports of $31 billion, counting for almost 21 percent of the total exports. The strengths of Australia include the fact that it is ranked as one of the six fastest-growing new economy traders that is successful. It is also strong in its traditional commodities sectors. Australia is strong in information and communications technology infrastructure, innovation systems, business environment, and human resource development. These things make Australia a definite plus for investors (Australia Today).

Australia ranks third highest as an OECD countries as far as percentage of investment as to GDP. The Reserve Bank of Australia has created a direct link between expenditure and Australia's strong productivity growth. The growth of e-commerce is supposed to add an additional 2.7 percent to Australia's GDP total within the next ten years (Australia Today).

Australia is a very diverse society, in that it is very tolerant and inclusive of a lot of different backgrounds and cultures worldwide. There are people living in Australia that have migrated from Vietnam, China, Greece, and the UK. This incredible cultural diversity has become a trademark of Australia's national identity. Islam is one example of recent growth in the country. Muslims today have formed a rather important part of Australia's diverse society, and a recent census has revealed that over 280,000 Muslims live in Australia now. Australia is a very fair society in that it sets forth and respects the rights of its compatriots to express and share their cultural heritage, whether or not they were originally from Australia (Australia Today).

Australia is known for its contemporary arts that are both unique and diverse, quite like the society. This art form reflects the ancient landscape that Australia is, and is home to the world's oldest continuous cultural traditions and to a beautiful mix of migrant cultures.

Australia has a higher education rate than a lot of other countries as well, making it appealing to other countries and thus immigrants from all around the world. Their education system is very well developed and has a high participation and completion rate. The Australian government continually reviews and upgrades the system and the training students and teachers as well recieve, hoping to improve the education levels in order to address the issues that arise from economic and social change. Their schools often receive attention from outside the native land. Australia is also helping other countries overseas with the development of their educational programs in order to help them achieve a higher level of learning and knowledge (Australia Today).

Because of Australia's major commitment to science and technology, the country has become a culture of innovation in order to make good use of both national and international information networks. They encourage creativity in research and collaboration between university researchers and industry. The advances Australia has made in these industries have had a strong effect on economic growth. This helps the WTO because it improves trade relations, since other members of the WTO will trade with economically stable countries that are involved in new information technology. Because the country is so well positioned and has a lot of good resources, it is able to make a big difference in the global innovation race. Their competitive, vibrant economy is high in productivity and growth, providing the ideal place for invention and new ideas to grow and thrive (Australia Today).

Innovations from Australian members of society are known throughout the world, from medical stuff like the bionic ear and new flu treatments to the world's first nanomachine, contactless smartcards, and the orbital engine. This alone is enough to make the WTO happy to have Australia as a member, because of the potential benefits they could receive, and the worldwide recognition those types of innovations would bring to both Australia and the WTO. Australia has become a sophisticated market in the ICT, growing 25 percent in two years to reach a growth of $75 billion. Well over half of the Australian markets and enterprises use the Internet for e-commerce, and a whole third of the population are registered to use Internet banking. Mobile phone usage in Australia is the fourth highest of any in the Asia Pacific region. Surprisingly, E-government use is widespread as well, and a third of all Australians are able to access public sector services online (Australia Today).

The Australian economy is growing very quickly as compared with other industrial nations. In the year 2003 the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked the Australian continent as the most resilient economy in the world. The OECD predicted that growth in Australia's economy in both 2004 and 2005 would outdo most other industrial companies. Australia ranked eleventh in the world on total expenditure with $5.9 billion. There are a lot of good global statistics from Australia and other countries that prove just how much Australia's membership with the WTO has helped its broadcasting and outlook worldwide (Australia Today).

Not only is Australia a wonderful country economically, but it makes a great tourist spot as well. The country has a beautiful natural environment, multi-cultural communities, friendly people, and incredible weather and lifestyle combined. It is like no other place in the world, which in turn makes it one of the best places in the world to live and also to conduct business. Tourism is one of Australia's largest and up-and-coming industries. Their number of short-term visitors nearly doubled in the last decade. The tourist attractability of Australia makes it an attraction for the WTO as well. Tourism created $16 billion to Australia's economy in 2003. This counts for almost eleven percent of Australia's total export earnings, in turn being more than the combined value of Australian iron ore and aluminum exports for the year (Australia Today).

According to the International Trade Administration, in May of 2003, the United States and Australia signed a free trade agreement in order to eliminate over ninety-nine percent of tariffs on manufactured goods, and because of this agreement, trade between the nations was predicted to rise quite significantly. In 2003 U.S. exports to Australia were up over one million dollars, rising to over thirteen billion dollars in exports. Exports to Australia are growing faster than the United States' overall exports (US-Australia'.). This has only been possible because of both countries' membership to the WTO'they can reduce tariffs and other barriers to trade and trade more easily amongst themselves. Furthermore, Secretary Donald L. Evans of the Department of Commerce praised the declaration of this agreement, stating that it will benefit American workers, consumers, and manufacturers (Commerce Secretary'). He said 'The U.S.-Australia Free Trade agreement will boost the bottom lines of American manufacturers. Today's signing means more American jobs because we've leveled the playing field in a critical market for U.S. manufacturers. The new free trade agreement is a powerful tool that will help raise the standard of living across America, provide higher paying jobs and help American businesses succeed in the worldwide marketplace.' (Commerce Secretary')

Australia's Purchasing Power Parity, or their annual GDP, is estimated to be around $571.4 billion in the year 2003 (The World'). Their economy is Western-style, and their per capita GDP ($29,000) is on the same level as four other dominant West European economies. Their output has been rising consistently and business and consumer confidence remain robust. The strong import demand in 2003 pushed the trade deficit up to $18 billion, and consequently up to $20 billion in 2004. Previously, the trade deficit in 2002 had been only $8 billion (The World'). Membership with the WTO has provided Australia with the opportunity to lower this deficit through increased trade with other countries around the world, including the prosperous United States of America.

The unemployment rate in Australia is only 6%, and the labor force consists of 10.19 billion people. In 2003, estimated exports reached a total of $68.67 billion, while imports totaled $82.91 billion. Since then exports have increased, but Australia still maintains its deficit, not unlike many other countries. Their foreign exchange reserves and gold is equal to $33.26 billion, and their external debt is up to $233.5 billion (The World')

The WTO official website provides some interesting statistics about Australia, including its ranking in world trade in the year 2003. For instance, in 2003, Australia ranked 26th in exports and 19th in imports for merchandise amongst the WTO's members. In commercial services, they ranked 25th in exports and 22nd in imports.

Australia's population in 2003 was estimated to be around 19,890,000 people, while their GDP was around 518,382,000. Their share in total world exports was 1.2 percent, and their share in total world imports was around the same. (Trade Profiles'). As reported earlier, Australia became a member of the WTO on January 1, 1995.

Since joining the WTO, Australia appears to have grown with leaps and bounds in international trade, sophistication and admiration, and economic stability around the world. Membership with the World Trade Organization has had a wonderful effect on all parts of Australia's commerce and business world, lowering tariffs and other trade barriers and giving them a chance to compete globally. Overall, I'd say that Australia has benefited greatly from membership to the WTO, despite their current trade deficit, which is worsening. I believe that the country has gained a lot from their association with the WTO, but that now things are beginning to worsen again, and that reforms need to be made to some of the WTO rules and regulations.