Excutive summary
- With the United States (US) and Australia both facing the challenges and opportunities of the "Asian Century," comprehensive action must be taken to sustain mutual long-term prosperity.
- To achieve this goal, and based on the contribution of Alliance 21 expert participants, several policy recommendations have been provided. This includes the encouragement of infrastructure investment in both the US and Australia as well as the need for stable energy policy.
- Through major undertakings like the Trans-Pacific Partnership will have considerable bearing on the success of this mutual goal of the US and Australia, care must be taken to also consider the disruptive potential of other events such as the impact of 3-D printing.
Together, the United States (US) and Australia are confronting the challenges presented by the “Asian Century.” To ensure these challenges become opportunities for long-term growth, development and prosperity, both the US and Australia must consider sustained and appropriate measures. With this goal in mind, and based on the contributions of the expert participants of the Alliance 21 trade and investment theme, eight actionable recommendations have been provided: The need for Washington to focus on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiation and ratification; the need for market access to be seriously considered during TPP negotiations; the need for US trade policy to adapt to new realities in the global economy; active efforts in the US and Australia to prevent domestic policy from hindering trade at-large; the need for both the US and Australian government to invest in infrastructure; the requirement for the Australian government to produce and maintain stable energy policy and; the need to intensify regional dialogue to build a robust and comprehensive regional economic framework.