New Trade Dialogue Between Australia And Japan

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

03 July 2009

Australia's Minister for Trade Simon Crean has announced a new bilateral ministerial dialogue with Japan's Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, Mr Toshihiro Nikai.

The inaugural meeting will occur later this year and the Ministers will aim to hold meetings on an annual basis.

Mr Crean announced the new ministerial dialogue with Japan after holding talks with Mr Nikai on the sidelines of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris.

Earlier in the month, Mr Crean hosted the first ministerial-level dialogue between Australia and the European Commission on trade policy in Brussels.

Crean said the new dialogue with Japan was another important step in deepening engagement between the two nations, explaining:

"The establishment of the Australia-Japan Trade and Economic Ministerial Dialogue reflects the maturity and sophistication of the bilateral trade relationship."

"The inaugural meeting's priorities will be to discuss developments in the WTO, to explore new areas of trade and investment, and to advance the Australia-Japan Free Trade Agreement negotiations," he added, continuing:

"As two major exporting nations, Australia and Japan share an interest in resisting any drift towards protectionism by working together through the G20 and to conclude the WTO Doha Round."

"It is also vital for Australia and Japan to continue to cooperate through the G20 on coordinated fiscal expansion, reforming international financial institutions and building a stronger supervisory and regulatory framework," he finished.

Australia and Japan share a very close and complementary trade partnership. Japan was Australia's largest trading partner in 2008 and has been Australia's largest export market for over 40 years.

Japan is also Australia's third largest foreign investor and recently released ABS statistics show Japan is one of Australia's fastest growing major sources of foreign direct investment, rising by 16% from AUD31bn (USD24bn) in 2007 to AUD36bn (USD28bn) in 2008.

Total Japanese investment in Australia now stands at nearly AUD90bn (USD72bn).

Japan is Australia's largest customer of coal, LNG, beef and dairy products, while Australia is Japan's largest supplier of iron ore, uranium and aluminium.

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