Australia IS the only country that believes in 'free trade', just look at Craig Emmerson rushing around trying to export all our jobs (that remain after Hawke-Keating-Howard exported most).

But this 'free trade' is a funny thing too.

Kim Carr is a 'free trader' who is busying pouring taxpayer funds into overseas firms to help keep them 'viable'.

Odd!

Why not let them fall, in line with the free market rejection of their unwanted and poorly designed products?

I'd much rather drive a Honda Jazz, made in Thailand, than some junk box Holden or Ford.

Why should we support these dinsosaur cars and their makers?

Chris - as an academic you should be well aware of the long debate in Australia over the dismantling of our system of protection and, yes, it has been shown many times that we would still benefit if everyone else was protectionist and we were free.. Look it up!

Australia is hardly fully free of course and, sure, there is some chance of the world reverting to more protection for various reasons, but is that worth Australia becoming more protectionist? No. What you should do is compare and contrast the examples of NZ and Australia, where NZ has not done nearly as much towards unraveling protection and agrisocialism in its economy, then ask youself what the effects of protection would be in small economy.

Curmudgeon,

Not sure what you are saying. Please provide me with a detailed study to show why Aust going alone (from today) will always benefit from free trade with adequate regard to what happens on rest of developed world and also the many Aust industries. Also, please offer studies in line with current trends, including all the ramifications of the decline of the US and other democracies. I would love to read some astute stuff.

Also, debates 30 years ago do not explain much about today's situation.

You, and others, appear to make it sound so simple. Well, i am not so sure.

There are many reasons why Aust prospered last 30 years, and freer trade only partially explains this. Will detail this in future article.

Also, tell me how the US and Western Europe will also prosper from free trade now without Aust's luxury of having abundant minerals in the ground.

This is not the first time Chris has attacked free trade, and it is striking than on each of those occasions he has never directly addressed the arguments in favour of free trade. He resorts to insults (free traders are “zealots”), appeals to the examples of other countries (France and the USA are protectionist, so it must be right!). unsubstantiated generalisations (“Australia would struggle to have a high-tech manufacturing industry without substantial industry assistance”), and appeals to consequences that are implausible and illogical (“Western nations will be much less likely to accept their own demise” - who says they should?)

American paranoia at other countries’ economic success is not new. We saw an almost identical surge of populist xenophobia against Japan when its economy was booming the 1990s. Then, as now, more sensible and informed opinion in the USA opposed protectionism (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/003a090e-7687-11dc-ad83-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz1jaxvmyXG). Then, as now, the USA’s trade deficit owed nothing to “unfair” practices by its trading partners but was driven by its persistent habit of consuming more than it produces.

"every time an American patriot buys a Made-in-China product at Walmart, he or she is investing in China's military expansion, which forces us to invest more in our military to counter the threat".

Bingo. Chinese goods are therefore not cheap, and we should find someone else to make our cheap goods, or make them oursleves.

No, free trade must be truly reciprocal to be free trade; and, nobody has ever explained; how we benefit from debt laden speculators, with foreign head offices, buying up our iconic brands, with debt instruments, we invariably repay; or, how we prosper by allowing foreign interests to buy our most productive farmland.
There is a precedent for limiting the latter; to third generation citizens?
However, we do need to think beyond the current mining boom and how best to position our economy for the future? As an Island nation, is it just practical common sense;'s that we once again become a maritime nation, with a fleet of nuclear powered freight forwarders/container cargo ships, rather than remain dependant on other nation's diesel powered ships, for all our exports finding their way to market?
We own 40% of the world's known uranium reserves; and, ought to be clever enough; to utilise this, in a reasonably safe way to power our own shipping; and, as the future oil shocks whack our competitors, all but corner a very lucrative captive market.
Our future also depends on attracting high tech energy dependant industries to these shores!
To that end, our own alternative energy supplies need to be seriously cheaper than those they replace; and, our tax system needs to be seriously overhauled; to remove all compliance costs; and, the entirely unproductive parasites, who benefit from it/them?