Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade. Would the minister advise the House on the important role that international trade plays in creating jobs in Australia and on the significance of the recently convened Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations?

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. Of course, she does understand the fundamental importance of growth in international trade not only for growth in this economy but for jobs and living standards.

Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Health Services, Health and Wellbeing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Elaborate!

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will elaborate. One in five jobs in Australia is dependent upon international trade: 1.4 million jobs are related to exports and 1.1 million to imports. So international trade is terribly important for job opportunities in this country. Our efforts to further liberalise trade opportunities are important to that jobs growth, but they are also important to living standards. A report that I issued last year by the Centre for International Economics showed that average households are now up to $3,900 per year better off as a result of the trade liberalisation efforts over the past two decades.

I am then asked: what are we doing to advance this agenda? On 1 January this year the coming into effect of the Australia-New Zealand free trade agreement with ASEAN was a terribly important milestone. This is a trade agreement covering 600 million people. Collectively, two-way trade in this region is already bigger than our two-way trade with China, our largest individual trading partner. With trade liberalisation in respect of all of those 10 markets, there are important opportunities going forward. Last week we commenced the 14th round of trade negotiations with China, and they made important progress. This week we commenced the fourth round of trade negotiations with Korea, and they too are making important progress.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the member alludes to, also commenced its negotiations this week here in Canberra. Trans-Pacific Partnership is designed to be a high quality, comprehensive trade agreement—a trade agreement covering goods, services and investment. Done properly, this can be a bridge to a broader transpacific agreement covering the whole of the countries across the Pacific. For those in this Trans-Pacific Partnership so far, 470 million people are represented and a combined GDP of A$18 trillion. What is significant about this agreement is the fact that the US has given important buy-in to this opportunity. President Obama has indicated that the US is strongly behind advancing this high quality, comprehensive transpacific partnership. Given the importance of that economy, in terms of the overall economic growth going into the future, that is an important buy-in. The final point I make in terms of the overall advancement of the job opportunities, is the conclusion that we seek of the Doha Round. We welcome also recent statements by the President of the United States to redouble the efforts of export growth in that country and to find a balanced conclusion to the Doha Round. Doha is the economic stimulus the global recovery needs. It is a stimulus that does not have an impact on the budget. The fact that the US is strongly in partnership with us in this conclusion and is together with us on the TPP, the prospects of going forward are very strong indeed.