If you want to know what a country looks like when it's closed to international trade and investment - think North Korea, Russia under the Soviet Union and China under Mao.
On most scales, Australia is open to, and welcomes, foreign trade and investment. We welcome it because international trade and investment:
- provide access to goods and services Australians can’t or don’t produce
- provide access to larger pools of funds that support public projects and business expansion
- enable Australians to access new ideas and ways of doing things
- encourage Australian innovation and productivity by requiring business to compete with the best in the world
- generate income and promote economic growth and
- support Australia’s economic resilience.
We benefit from international trade and investment because businesses - Australian and foreign - must comply with Australian laws that protect people and promote human dignity. Without these, unfettered trade and investment can lead to exploitation and environmental degradation. Finding the balance between enabling the benefits that come from trade and investment and protecting citizens is an ongoing responsibility for business, government, researchers and all of us as consumers and members of the Australian, and global, community.
‘ACITI Info’ aims to make it easy to access information on Australia's trade and investment practice, profile, policies, programs and research. We provide snapshot summaries of key trade and investment topics relevant to Australia and links to places where you can find more information.
The ACITI website is a living source of information so don’t hesitate to challenge what you read here, tell us what we’re missing, and prod us for more information. We welcome your questions, suggestions and ideas for new content.
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For an interesting account of Australia’s trade history, future and policy see: Trading Nation: Advancing Australia's interests in world markets by Mike Adams, Nicolas Brown and Ron Wickes
