News

AIBCnews: Issue 179 - June 2019

Dear Members and Friends,

With the 46th Parliament of Australia just assembled, the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties will soon come together to review the now-signed IA-CEPA and make its report to Parliament.

All being well, this will see the Agreement ready to be ratified from the Australian perspective before the end of the year, with Indonesia also following its own process. We are hopeful that with President Jokowi’s continuing support, together with other key people and groups, this will also go smoothly.

With the current “Trade headwinds” being experienced globally with the ongoing US-China Trade War, agreements such as IA-CEPA and RCEP, that also includes Australia and Indonesia, become even more important to ensure our future prosperity. Indeed, Indonesia and Australia together led the charge at the recent G20 in Osaka to keep broader reform of world trade rules on-track, perhaps contributing to no further tariff impositions being made by the US on Chinese goods.

President Trump and President Joko Widodo together at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, June 2019 (Photo: Jakarta Post)

With all this focus on IA-CEPA this year, AIBC has been active in its advocacy in both countries to add our support for the earliest ratification of the Agreement, and looks forward to a range of collaborative events over coming weeks and months, aimed at spreading the word about the Agreement and opportunities, and encouraging businesses to participate; notably Ambassador Quinlan and Australia’s Chief Negotiator, Elizabeth Ward, will be involved in a range of events in various cities.

 

Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment with AIBC National President, Phil Turtle (Canberra, June 2019)

To continue reading the June edition of AIBCnews, please click here.

NATIONAL CORPORATE MEMBERS AND PARTNERS