It will be the private remarks between senior Australian business leaders and foreign investors at Davos that will likely be the most consequential for the Australian economy in the coming few years.
Negotiators from 11 countries have been racing to resurrect the near-dead Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this weekend.
The message from the US vice-president was that the US would stay the course and, if anything, act more assertively in preserving stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Trump’s ‘America first’ rhetoric implies that the internationalism and ‘enlightened self-interest’ that built the postwar order was a big mistake. The evidence and basic economics disagree.
Policymakers need to think outside the narrow confines of what has been regarded as “America first” policy postures that have dictated Australia’s foreign policy choices.
The agreement could be as good as dead, if, instead of pushing ahead without the US, its members decide to explore bilateral trade agreements with the country.
Xi Jinping is the first Chinese leader to attend the World Economic Forum and used his speech to denounce protectionism. But China’s trade liberalisation has stalled recently.
Where do we go from here? After a dramatic year, we look ahead to some key economic and political trends that will influence our lives over the next 12 months.
The main arguments in favor of the TPP were economic. But there’s another reason the Trump administration should rethink its promise to nix it: Its demise will weaken US national security.
Research Fellow, NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in the Social Determinants of Health Equity, School of Regulation and Global Governance, Australian National University