Text 
No Comments [ Add Comment ]Ex-Aussie leader: Go global
By JEFF DEMOSSSALT LAKE CITY -- The former prime minister of Australia urged the Utah business community Tuesday to embrace the global economy as a means of securing future economic prosperity.
"I'm a passionate believer in globalization," said John Winston Howard, who led the most prominent western stronghold in the Asian-Pacific Rim from 1996 to 2007.
"It gives me great hope and optimism that the challenges that arise can be addressed and dealt with."
Howard told a crowd of 850 gathered for the Zions Bank International Trade and Business Conference that the "sudden re-emergence of inflation" in domestic and world markets, driven largely by the rise of the middle class in Asia, underscores the need for more extensive and open global trade.
"By 2030, there will be hundreds of millions of middle-class people in the Asia-Pacific region -- more than in North America," he said. "For policy, this means the worst thing we could do is turn in on ourselves and become more protectionist."
He specifically addressed China, which grew into Australia's largest trading partner through a free trade agreement brokered under Howard's leadership.
"I would encourage those studying the emergence of China to see it in an overwhelmingly positive light, not as a threat," he said. "However, we need to confront them with both the opportunities and the responsibilities they have as a premier world nation."
He praised the United States for maintaining an "open and flexible" economy, but warned against "overregulation" in light of the recent credit crisis and subsequent economic slowdown.
"To some extent, the failure of regulators has contributed to this financial problem, but sometimes the reaction is worse than the malady it was intended to cure," he said.
Utah has had a record run for exports in recent years. State exports have grown steadily, from $4.1 billion in 2003 to $7.8 billion last year, according to the International Trade Administration.
Local companies have benefited from this increased trade, including Great Salt Lake Artemia, a Mountain Green-based cooperative that harvests brine shrimp eggs from the Great Salt Lake for export around the world.
Don Leonard, chairman of the cooperative, said virtually all of its product is sent to commercial shrimp and fish farms in Asia, Europe, Central America and South America.
"We're the only major source of brine shrimp eggs in the country, but there is no domestic market for them," Leonard said.
Zions Bank spokesman Rob Brough said the growth of international trade is evidenced by the growth of attendance at the annual conference, which drew about 200 to its inaugural event in 2002.
"More small businesses are recognizing the opportunities out there."
Add Your Comment
