Minister welcomes Australian business initiative on protectionism

Trade Minister Tim Groser today welcomed an Australian initiative to lobby the G20 leaders to focus more on the domestic sources of pressure for protectionist policies. A recent policy paper by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, Message to the G20: Defeating Protectionism Begins at Home, has been circulated to all G20 participants.

"While this is probably subject matter for a future WTO Round, I welcome the focus suggested on the domestic sources of protectionism.

"Keeping markets open in difficult economic times is essential if we are to recover quickly from the current global economic downturn, and the Lowy Institute paper usefully reminds policy makers of the potential costs of protectionist policies.

"There is real value in encouraging countries to establish domestic transparency agencies to assess the economy-wide costs of subsidy and protection policies. Long term, I hope this issue will be placed on the multilateral negotiations agenda.

"This is a topic New Zealand has championed since the GATT Uruguay Round and we will, I am sure, continue to champion it in the future.

"I commend the work that Federated Farmers, New Zealand Chambers of Commerce, and the Business Roundtable have done to support this Australian initiative and to support the Lowy Institute publication.

"This is a great example of the collaborative spirit between businesses on both sides of the Tasman that was so evident in Sydney at the recent Australia-New Zealand Leadership forum," Mr Groser said.