* PRESS OFFICE TRANSCRIPT 19 JUNE 19787k
INTERVIEW WITH DUNCAN FAIRWEATHER
QUESTION: Prime Minister, you got a sympathetic hearing in
Europe, what realistic hopes do you have that Australia's
case will be accepted by the Common Market?
PRIME MIINISTER: I believe that Australia's case is now
better understood than it's ever been. We also have the
circumstances in which the United States has said that they
will walk away from these trade negotiations unless
agriculture is included. Now when I spoke to Mr. Jenkins
he made it perfectly plain that the result in Geneva would
be unreal for Australia, of no use to Australia, unless it
opened up the reality and the prospect of trade in beef with
the European Community, for example and it was the first time that
I had heard him talking in those terms, even about the prospect
of trade in a realistic way. So, I think the chances are better
than they have ever been. I also. think that it's vastly
important because these trade negotiations are going to set
the pattern of world trade for many years ahead and Australia
is a very significant trading nation who can't afford to ignore
or be shut out of one of the largest and most affluent trading
blocs the world has ever seen. I know quite well that our
markets in other parts of the world, in Asia and Korea and
Japan and Southeast Asia, are going to expand and grow both
ways and a great deal of attention is being devoted to that
but it's in Europe, where these non-tariff barriers, discriminatory
practices, are pursued.
QUESTION: There's been some criticism that you may have harmed
Australial's relations with the EEC by speaking out so frankly
and openly in Europe. Why did you decide to go there to conduct
this campaign rather than leaving it to Mr. Garland or the
normal diplomatic avenues.
PRIME MINISTER: There are two matters you see. The bilateral
matter has principally been handled by Mr. Garland but the final
discussions that we were having with the European Community was
coinciding in the run-down period for the Multilateral Trade
Negotiations which began in 1973. They are meant to come to
a conclusion in July of this year and that's only a very short
time away and the Government felt, I felt, that the matters
were so serious that Australia's view needed to be pressed
with the utmost vigour and with all the force at our command
and that's why this visit was undertaken, to add what weight
we can to making these trade negotiations a success, to opening
up world trade. Not just for industrial goods but for
agriculture and for commodities because unless that happens
I think we could well face a very difficult trading future.
What happens this year is not just going to affect this / 2
, INTERVIEW WITH DUNCAN FAIRWEATHER. 19 JUNE 1978
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PRIME MINISTER: ( continued) year, it will set the pattern
ToEr many years ahead and it's going to affect the livelihood
and the well-being, therefore, of all Australians.
QUESTION: There's a meeting of the seven economic powers
in Bonn next month. What influence are they going to have on
the sort of outcome that you are looking for?
PRIME MINISTER: Well if they have a good constructive meeting
amongst themselves, obviously that will help to set the outcome
for a constructive result of the trade negotiations. If they
ended up by going in every different direction, obviously that
wouldn't help. I don't really expect enormous results out of
that Bonn summit. If you look at past summits, statements
have been made which all of them could embrace but they have
statements~ of intention, statements of principle, perhaps more
than statements of firm and committed action. I think that
the Bonn summit will be looking to expansion of demand~ to
maintaining barriers against undue protectionism. I hope they.
will also be looking to matters that will advance the trading
opportunities of the developing world and also I would hope
saying something about the need to have a broad based result
at Geneva which would include agriculture, not just industrial
goods. But what they do determine at this stage, its speculation.
They are the sorts of areas that I would like to see covered.
QUESTION: In our relations with the Common Market are you
going to use uranium as a bargaining lever?
PRIME MINISTER: A number of people in Europe asked me about that
and one of theTEuropean Commissioners, a year ago, in fact
he virtually suggested that that ought to happen because he
said you negotiate with us over uranium, this is your right,
because we are the ones who can give you access. We don't want
. to use uranium in those terms because safeguards are a quite
separate matter. There are international obligations in that
insofar as the supply of uranium is concerned, there again I
believe international obligations in the supply of energy to
an energy short world. Now I would hope that Europeans will
come to a responsible and reasonable result as responsible
and reasonable people and wouldn't really try to press Australia
beyond endurance. I've also said of course that the strength
of Australia's view, and the determination behind that view
should not in any sense be underestimated by the European
Community. QUESTION: So there is a point at which uranium might be
considered as an option?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't want to say anymore than I have on
tis ' particular subject, I really don't. I hope we will be
concluding a-safeguards agreement with Britain very shortly.
It's been agreed between officials and be comifig for the
Australian Government for confirmation and then I understand / 3
INTERVIEW WITH DUNCAN FAIRWEATHER. 19 JUNE 1978
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PRIME MINISTER: ( continued) it lies on the table at EURATUM
for a month, then the British will agree it that's what
I was told by their Ministers when I was there I've also
been advised that the French want to have a similar safeguards
agreement and the Germans might also be interested so there
is considerable interest in Europe, quite apart from other
countries with whom we have been negotiating, for Australia's
uranium. We've again pointed out that reliability of access,
reliability of supply are both important principles in trade.
Again, I would be like to be able to tieat uranium as separate
and something of particular importance and significance and
I hope we will be able to maintain that.
QUESION: Is there a warning carried in your strong
anti-protectionism statements in Europe for inefficient producers
in Australia that they can't expect to be shielded from
cheap imports forever?
PRIME MINISTER: I think you've got to look at Australia's
producers in a different light from the sorts of remarks that
have often been made about European producers. When speaking
with one group, with one person in particular in Europe, I
mentioned that his concern about people being locked into
inefficient industries but he was saying that in the context
of government subsidies to those particular industries,
government subsidies to employment in those particular
industries. Now Australia has no programs, I think, of a
similar vein. Our training schemes are across the board, not
directed to particular industries so we haven't got the situation
in which governments are locking capital and manpower into
particular industries through quite deliberate government
subsidies and against the best long-term interests of the
country concerned. We know quite well that in Australia, as
in other countries, there has to be re-structuring, but I
have said on a number of occasions, re-structuring is very
difficult when industry is flat. It would have been much
easier ten years ago, fifteen years ago, when matters were
booming and there would have been jobs in other industries
moving away from the ones that might have had, in the judgement
of some investors, a slightly dubious future. We seek to
support Australian industry, we will continue to do so. At
the same time in any country there has to be a capacity to
move into those areas where the resources and energies can
be used properly. Nobody can be guaranteed that what they
do today, they are going to be able to do in 50 years time
in precisely the same way and I don't believe any Australian
manufacturer would suggest that or ask for that. The capacity
and strength of Australia is going to depend on our capacity
to adapt, to change, to modify, to innovate, to do exciting
and new things which will advance the Australian cause and
I believe more and more people are coming to understand that.
It is our job as a government to stand with industry, whether
it is primary industry or secondary industry. To give encouragerent
and support where that is necessary; to give protection where
that is necessary but to do it-in accordance with proper
trading principles and not in the way that I think is utterly
in defiance-of those principles as has occured in Europe. / 4
INTERVIEW WITH DUNCAN FAIRWEATHER. 19 JUNE 1978
p -4-
QUESTION: What's your thinking at the moment on a phased
lowering of tariffs against imports from Asian countries, a
phased reduction which I understand Mr. Lee would like to
see? PRIME MINISTER: He would like to see more trade but he
also knows that there has been more trade, with ASEAN countries
exports to Australia over recent years have been growing
at 40 percent a year. Now while any country would like to
increase its exports to Australia at a greater rate, ASEAN
countries know quite well that there is a limit to the
rate of increase of penetration in the Australian market.
They also know that we are doing a good deal to help and
my good friend the Prime Minister of Singapore also knows
that. At this very moment, there is an ASEAN-Australia
Industrial Seminar taking place in Melbourne. In October
of this year there will be an ASEAN-Australia Trade Fair.
Now both these things came out of proposals that I made
at the Kuala Lumpur meeting last year. Both were designed
to help promote the economic and commercial cooperation between
ASEAN and Australia to expand trade between ASEAN and Australia
but especially in a difficult market situation when there is
unemployment. The Prime Minister of Singapore and other ASEAN
leaders know quite well that there is a limit to their degree
of penetration into our markets. In fact, Australia imports
more per capita industrial goods from the developing world
than I think any other country and I've made the point again
or in the past, that if the ASEAN countries have the same
access to North America and to Europe as they have for Australia
in textiles, apparel and footware, three-sensitive areas, they'd
be exporting an extra $ 1,000 million worth of goods each year.
Now that just highlights the kind of access they've got to our
market compared to the very limited access they've got to
North America and to Europe and so I believe that Australia
has behaved as a good neighbour in these particular matters.
When you are talking about a phased reduction, we have of course
said that we will be part of the ( inaudible) tariff proposals
at the Multilateral Trade Negotiations. Whether that takes
place depends upon the degree of reciprocity we get from other
trading countries which will allow access for Australian
commodities, for Australian goods, and we will have to make
a proper judgement about that but we'd certainly be :. very much
opposed to sudden-moves of the kind that occurred in the past
were without any reciprocity, without any benefits for
Australian traders. The Australian tariff was cut by 25 percent
overnight. That did great harm. It led to very considerable
damage and we got no advantage from it in terms of access to
other markets. That sort of thing I was opposed to then, I
remain utterly opposed to it. -The formula approach being
discussed at Geneva we are prepared to participate in, but
whether we can go the course, which we have made quite plain,
depends upon the kind of access we get for Australian goods.
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