Australia PM: EU, TPP-11 Accords Can Help Support Rules-Based Economic System

Advancing on trade rule-making in various regional contexts – including negotiating an EU-Australia trade accord and advancing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP-11) process – could play a valuable role in supporting the multilateral trading system, said Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week. The EU and Australia are “key partners in reinforcing the rules-based economic system ,” Turnbull said in the Western Australian city of Perth on 4 November. “It is our only remaining major trading partner with which we don’t have a free trade agreement. We must seize the opportunity to achieve one.” In his speech, the prime minister also commented on the current geopolitical climate when it comes to trade, warning against inward-focused policy and political approaches. “Continuing prosperity assumes we do not close our doors to the flow of people, capital, imports, or ideas. That we don't turn in on ourselves, taking populist comfort in protectionism. That we don't forget the lessons of the 1930s,” he said . He also referred specifically to some of the challenges facing today’s global trading landscape, including within the WTO context. “The siren songs of populists, advocating protectionism as simple quick solutions, have gained considerable support. Moreover, there is a real risk...