1. Trumponomics will impact on our region
Business is business – either an opportunity makes sense or it doesn’t. The biggest pressure from the new US President is unlikely to be the much discussed Trans-Pacific Partnership (Australia’s current Free Trade Agreement with the US (AUSFTA) has been in place since 2005), or President Trump’s controversial immigration policies, but the plan to cut the US Federal company tax rate from 35% to boost competitiveness. If the US drops its company tax rate below 30%, Australia will be the one of the most expensive countries in its region to do business and globally uncompetitive. The 2016-17 Federal Budget announcement to reduce Australia’s company tax rate progressively to 25% for all businesses has stalled in the Parliament with voter perception that it is a gift to ‘big business’ at the expense of more deserving elements of the community.
The US is Australia’s second largest two-way trading partner at around $69 billion and our third largest export market at $22 billion* (we import around $47 billion in US goods and services). Australia’s trade relationship with China however swamps this volume with $150 billion in two-way trade of which almost $86 billion is in exports. These trade statistics are important to remember when we look at the geopolitical landscape of the Asia-Pacific region and in particular the increasingly antagonistic relationship between the United States and China.
Australia is too small an economy to successfully survive on its domestic market alone. Strong regional alliances and competitiveness are critical.
Click here to read Prediction #2 ‘Innovate or Perish’
* 2015-16 figures Austrade Why Australia Benchmark Report 2017
