Global Economy
Economic diplomacy: Indonesian trade, RCEP and PNG aid
Plan B for Indonesia
An interesting division is emerging between the federal government and a potential future Labor administration over the value of free trade agreements (FTAs)…
Trump and intellectual property
It’s hardly surprising that America – the land of Thomas Edison, Graham Alexander Bell, and Steve Jobs – is a vigorous defender of inventors’ rights. President Trump has turned up…
Economic diplomacy: doing business with China, Donald’s soulmate
Out of the dark
It says a lot about the dilemma of managing China and infrastructure that the federal government has signed three agreements* on the issue in the past year…
Is the TPP worth it?
The TPP, the biggest and most controversial trade deal in recent decades, has just passed the Senate in Australia with bipartisan support. Despite its speedy confirmation, the TPP…
Economic diplomacy: Japan + China, BRI push back
Bonsai diplomacy
Australia’s China-befuddled political class could do worse than observe how the world’s leading centre-right politician Shinzo Abe manages a masterclass in …
Australian energy diplomacy
Successive federal governments have declared Australia to be an “energy superpower”. The 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper is the most recent example, highlighting the size of…
Pakistan: indebted to China, Saudi Arabia, and IMF
Saudi Arabia was the first country Imran Khan visited after assuming office as Pakistan’s new Prime Minister. As he made the trip last month, he asked for financial help for…
Do Trump’s tariffs much matter?
One of the few things economists agree on is that international trade should be free of restrictions. Hence we know US President Donald Trump’s tariffs are a bad idea. But just…
Economic diplomacy: Australia abroad, China’s cash
Outward bound
Australian businesses are confident about foreign markets despite the threat of a global trade war and doing it without the need for new digital commerce channels…
A balancing act for IMF’s new Chief Economist
Gita Gopinath has been appointed as Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund, to take over from Maurice Obstfeld at the end of the year.
She is academically well…