In an interview with AM ABC Radio on Monday, Chalmers emphasised the need for Australia to remain actively engaged in international supply chains, particularly in driving the global transition to net zero emissions.
“I’ve written a piece in the Financial Review about that today because I am worried about that interpretation. I think it’s wrong,” Chalmers told ABC regarding claims that the Future Made in Australia policy is protectionist.
“Australia is a big beneficiary of global markets and we need more engagement with the world, not less. And that’s what our policies like the Future Made in Australia is all about.”
According to the Treasurer, the Future Made in Australia policy will position Australia as a crucial player in global net zero supply chains set to shape the future economy.
“That’s what Future Made in Australia is all about. And what we want to see in the world is a recognition that open markets that can deliver prosperity, trade wars can be costly, and that’s the point that we’ve been making.”
Elaborating more broadly on this in the piece he penned for The Australian Financial Review, Chalmers emphasised the critical need for Australia to deepen its engagement in global trade rather than retreat into isolationism.
Reflecting on the establishment of the G20 a quarter-century ago, Chalmers said: “The G20 has done some of its best work in crises.
“Today, in the face of rapid social, environmental, demographical, geopolitical and technological transformation, we need the same spirit of cooperation that’s served the world so well.”
Chalmers warned against the temptation to “batten down the hatches” in response to uncertainty, stating: “This would be a mistake and a costly one.”
He stresses that, while it’s essential to de-risk supply chains, Australia cannot afford to sacrifice free and fair trade in favour of fragmentation and suspicion.
“More engagement with trading partners is beneficial to our businesses, our workers and our investors and it’s also critical for global stability,” he said.
“We are not naive about this. We understand and agree economic and security interests are increasingly aligned.
“This is a bedrock of our own thinking and our own strategies, including our Future Made in Australia agenda.”
Elaborating on the agenda, Chalmers said it is about “making the most of Australia’s unique combination of geological, geopolitical, geographical and meteorological strengths”.
“That means mobilising tens of billions of dollars of private investment into our own resilience and our own strengths.”
The Treasurer shared that during the recent G20 meeting in the US, he called for a recommitment to three core principles – transparency in industrial policies, alignment with the global rules-based order, and the promotion of free trade alongside domestic investment.
“There are no winners in a trade war, only losers,” he said, framing free and fair trade as an essential enabler of global economic security.
As Australia navigates inflation and living costs, Chalmers emphasises that “more engagement is part of the solution to the challenges we face”.
He concluded: “We understand as Australians just how beneficial engagement has been to our past and how critical it will be to our future. We need more of it, not less.”
