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| Trade Talk brings you a selection of the latest trade news from Australia and the world. |
| Trade Articles sourced from non-Australian Government sources do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government. | | |
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Tourism businesses' contribution to GDP strengthens | | Australia's tourism industry's contribution to our Gross Domestic Product in 2014-15 reached $47.5b, an increase of almost 18% from 2010-11. This highlights the importance of the sector to Australia's transitioning economy, Minister Ciobo said. According to Tourism Research Australia's latest Tourism Business in Australia report, the industry comprised around 273,500 businesses in June 2015, which represented over 13% of Australia's total 2.1 million businesses. | | | | | | | |
Tourism investment pipeline reaches $59.8b | | A strong interest in Australian tourism infrastructure projects has helped our tourism investment pipeline soar to $59.8b (up $6.5b) in 2015. According to TRA's Tourism Investment Monitor 2016 report, this increase has been mainly attributed to: the growth in aviation projects such as new aircraft investment orders ($37.6b); new arts, recreation and business services projects ($14.6b); and new accommodation projects ($7.6b). | | | | | | | |
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Report urges WTO members to resist protectionism | | Key findings from the Trade Monitoring Report indicate a rise in trade-restrictive measures by WTO members. WTO DG Roberto Azevêdo said this is the last thing that the global economy needs. In the midst of this uncertainty, WTO members must resist protectionist pressures. The best safeguard against protectionism is a strong multilateral trading system. | | | | |
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IMF chief calls for broad-based policy effort to reinvigorate growth | | IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde welcomed the determination of G20 members to use all policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. Further trade liberalisation is also crucial to bolster productivity and global growth, while taking steps to ensure the gains from trade are shared widely, she said at the conclusion of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers Meeting in Chengdu, China. | | | | |
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Steel market reforms in China could slow Australian iron ore export volumes | | Consolidation of China's loss-making steel industry, particularly if it leads to lower steel output, could weigh on the strong growth of Australian iron ore export volumes. But Australia's low cost of production will cushion the risk to export volumes. Chinese steel production fell 2.5% in 2015 after expanding 11.9% in 2013 and 2% in 2014. | | | | |
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Australian software developer brings blockchain to local grains industry | | Sydney based firm, Full Profile, will trial the use of technology similar to blockchain with the grain industry in an attempt to increase the integrity of the whole grain supply chain. Grain growers have been increasingly exposed to payment risk after crop shipments legally change owners. However, with blockchain's key features such as real-time payments and settlements, it allows for instant payment once grain harvests are delivered. | | | | | | | |
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Did you know? | | International events stimulate arrivals to Australia. During February and March 2015, Australia saw strong growth in visitor arrivals (up 14.7% and 13.5%, respectively over the previous year) which coincided with the Asian Football Cup, the ICC Cricket World Cup and Lunar New Year (TRA Tourism Investment Monitor 2016). | | |