AUSTRALIA – FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS

PM wins steel deal from Trump

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 10-Jul-17

The Group of 20 summit’s final communique included a commitment to free trade and combating protectionism, although it also featured a clause on tariffs at the request of the US. Meanwhile, Prime Malcolm Turnbull and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann pushed for Australian steel and aluminium to be exempt from proposed US import tariffs in a series of meetings with US officials, including President Donald Trump. Australia has also agreed to finalise free trade agreements with Indonesia and the European Union by the end of 2017 and 2018 respectively.

CORPORATES
GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF COMMERCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, STEELSCAPE INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Union bid to torpedo China FTA

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-Jun-16

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Electrical Trades Union have launched an advertising campaign that aims to put free trade agreements on the election agenda. The trade deal with China is being targeted by the unions, which want the Australian Labor Party to reconsider its support for the deal if it wins the 2016 election. Meanwhile, Labor has indicated that it will seek to remove so-called "investor state dispute settlement" provisions from Australia’s trade deals with China, Japan and South Korea.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, MIGRATION COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Australia lags in competitive rankings

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 1-Oct-15

Australia is ranked 21st in the World Economic Forum’s 2015-16 Global Competitiveness report, compared with 22nd position previously. However, the nation is ranked 26th in terms of innovation and 36th for labour market flexibility. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says the report demonstrates the need for government policy to focus on areas such as innovation, workplace relations and taxation. Switzerland and Singapore are the two most competitive nations, according to the report.

CORPORATES
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL

G20 ‘has a duty to get tough on tax dodgers’

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 18 : 19-Aug-14

Stephen Martin, CEO of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, will issue a paper on 18 August 2014 that calls for the Federal Government to ensure tangible outcomes are achieved when the nation hosts the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit later in the year. A major issue will be action by G20 members to crack down on tax evasion via profit shifting by multinational corporations. Martin warns that diplomatic disputes such as that with Russia over its actions in Ukraine must not detract from the G20 agenda

CORPORATES
GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSMIN, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF STATE

Make or break for summit

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Original article by Ben Potter, Mathew Dunckley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Jul-14

The Business 20 (B20) forum will accompany the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in Australia in late 2014. A preparatory meeting of the B20 is being staged in mid-July, and the participants have set a new focus on financing growth, human capital, infrastructure and trade. Experts such as International Monetary Fund ex-deputy MD John Lipsky argue that the November summit will be crucial in setting the path for the G20 for years to come, and failure to achieve meaningful outcomes will be a major missed opportunity. They urge Prime Minister Tony Abbott to be forceful in setting the agenda

CORPORATES
BUSINESS 20 (B20), GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL STABILITY BOARD